


Bittersweet

by imgilmoregirl



Series: Bittersweet Verse [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: A Monthly Rumbelling, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Contracts, Custody Battle, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2018-12-18 00:20:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 61,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11862723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imgilmoregirl/pseuds/imgilmoregirl
Summary: When Adam Gold is left at the altar by Milah, he ends up in a bar where he meets the lonely and troubled young woman, Lacey French.Written for the A Monthly Rumbelling prompt "Runaway bride".





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ethereal_Wishes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ethereal_Wishes/gifts).



> This fic was revised by my amazing beta Ethereal_Wishes.  
> Well, despited of the small drabble I did for A Golden Rose, this is the first time I write Lacey and I had a lot of fun doing this, so I hope you enjoy reading too.

"Do you, Adam, accept this woman as your wife?"

Showing a smirk, Gold nodded his head, saying: "Yes."

"And do you, Milah, accept this man as your husband?" The priest asked turning to the bride.

The look on her face was a little frightened, her eyes wide in despair as she gripped her bouquet of flowers desperately. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun, her white dress so beautiful, she had the entire congregation spellbound, but she wasn't feeling happy and bright at all, just nauseous.

Swallowing back the bile in her throat, she decided she couldn't take it, daring to pronounce: "No."

Those words had haunted him ever since he'd left the church. Gold felt ashamed to be left at the altar, with Milah denying to marry him, but he had to go on, tell the guests to enjoy the freaking party that he had already payed for, as he took his car and went to a bar, the distant one from the place where he should be celebrating his wedding, sitting at the counter and asking for some whiskey.

He took a long sip from his glass, eyes fixed on all the coloured bottles placed carefully on the shelves, a sigh leaving him, as he thought about the great mess that his life had become in just a few hours. His son should be with his nanny by now, asking himself what exactly was happening, why the party had been cancelled and what Milah's final word meant for them, but he couldn't face his precious boy now. Gold needed time and more than anything, he needed a drink.

Feeling the whiskey burn his throat, he tried to analyse every single moment of his life with Milah, in an attempt to understand why she had run away, but he stopped when a beautiful brunette slid on the stool next to him.

"Hi," she said with a small smile, her lips plump and kissable. Gold banished the thought from his mind, feeling foolish for thinking such.

"Oh, hi," he greeted, more to be polite than anything else, because he wasn't the kind of man who enjoyed picking up women in a bar.

When he took better look at her, he became more certain that he shouldn't be speaking to her. She was clearly a lot younger than him, her bright blue eyes shining as she took the tequila she had asked the barman for, drinking it all at once.  Her black dress was short and tight, showing every curve of her body, her curled hair falling around her shoulders, beautifully.

"Tough night?" The girl asked, noticing how despondent he appeared.

He nodded in agreement. "The worst."

"Me too," she said in a languid tone. "I hate my job."

She asked for a whiskey, exactly the same one as his, without knowing what he was drinking. Her fingers closed around the glass, her nails coloured with a dark-blue polish. The girl seemed to be nice, but looked extremely upset and even though he was in pain himself, he couldn't help but feel some empathy for her and decided to keep being polite and continue their conversation.

"May I ask why?" he questioned.

"I'm a librarian, just like my mother was," she shrugged, taking a sip of her drink. "I used to love books when I was a kid, but ever since she died, I hate them."

All that came in response from him at first was a blink. She wasn't exactly the kind of person that he would imagine as a librarian, maybe because of the dress and all the make-up she was wearing or maybe it was just the fact that she was drinking like a fish.  "So why do you keep your job?"

"She would like me to and my dad drinks as much as me, but he doesn't work a lot," the girl said, her tone full of mordacity. "Someone has to bring food home in order to survive."

Adam knew that tone very well, because he used it most of the time with most people, but there was a difference between them, he was an old man with a horrible backstory, and she was just as young and delicate as a rosebud and shouldn't have been going through the pain her words and actions implied.

"You seem too young to be so bitter," he replied, nursing his drink in his hands.

"Life can be cruel with anybody, it doesn't choose a specific age," she mumbled, fingertips tracing the edge of her glass. A smirk filled her lips as she looked up straight at him. "So, why are you having a tough night, mister..." she halted, pining for a name.

"Gold. Adam Gold."

"Lacey French," the girl introduced herself, stretching out  her hand to offer him a shake, which he returned. "Will you answer the question?"

He needed to drink another sip to do so, but he wasn't going to give silence to Lacey, because he thought that she was the kind of person who deserved an answer.

"Today was supposed to be my wedding, but my bride, Milah, she said the big no and ran away."

"What a bitch," Lacey scoffed, making his eyes go wide.

"I guess it was my fault," Gold said, shrinking.

"Why? Did you cheat on her with one of the bridesmaids?"

"No! Why would I?" He defended himself. "I'm a difficult man to deal with. Just that."

And he wasn't lying. Gold was a busy lawyer, very sarcastic, very bitter and used to say the wrong thing almost always. Milah, well, she wanted exactly all he wasn't willing to give her, some kind of epic love that would lead her to greatness and a remarkable life.

"The bridesmaids would be more interesting. Plus, I think I've read something like this in a book," she remarked.

"I thought you hated books," he furrowed his brow inquisitively at her.

"I do. Most time," Lacey said with a secretive smile, finishing her drink. "A girl needs entertainment and not just from the bottom of a glass."

"You're exquisite," he breathed, drinking her all in.

“Thank you,” the brunette returned with a smile, then pointed at their empty glasses, “another?”

“Please,” Gold accepted, letting Lacey call the barman again to ask for another two whiskeys. He observed her the whole time, the fierce expression on her face mixed with the sadness in her eyes, and he wondered how she could seem to be two different people at once. One hidden soul behind a hard shell. “What happened at your work that's got you so upset?” Adam asked.

Lacey took a long deep breath, eyes fixed on the amber liquid as she worried her lower lip. “A woman spent the whole afternoon reading to her daughter right in front of my desk.”

“Let me guess, that reminded you of your mother?” Adam surmised.

“Perceptive,” she pointed with a smile, taking a sip of her drink. “Not drunk enough to forget what I just said.”

“I shouldn’t drink much,” Gold confessed. “I still have a son to take care of.”

“Really?” The brunette blinked. “So, the runaway bitch was your second try?”

He waved his head at the thought that someone that seemed to have such a beautiful soul like her shouldn’t be speaking like that. Not that Milah didn’t deserve that moniker, mainly after leaving the church the way she did, but even though Lacey’s behaviour said the very opposite, he wanted to believe that she was just layered and all her walls were up for a reason.

And, she was looking straight at him like he had suddenly gotten too drunk to answer her, which he didn’t. Gold was just too lost in his own musings.

“Oh, no,” he finally managed to say. “She is the mother, and I guess little Bae was the only reason she was going to marry me, but it seems that not even he could make her stay.”

“I’m starting to hate this Milah,” Lacey muttered.

When he heard those words coming out of her mouth, a smirk stretched across his lips. “Not drunk enough to forget her name.”

“I never get this drunk. I need to take care of myself and not let strange men in bars take me to their beds, when I’m out of my senses," Lacey admonished.

“Smart girl,” Gold replied, letting his eyes wander around the place, taking in some of the details.

He hated the loud nonsensical music that was playing; he hated the fact that most men in here were just idiots trying to get a single woman like Lacey in their beds. That wasn’t a place for him, he should be at home with his son, trying to figure out what to do next, but he actually was enjoying her company very much, even though they were only having a meaningless, half-drunk conversation. Gold was about to ask her another question, when he saw a couple entering the bar, but what got his attention was the fact that they weren’t just any couple, but Milah and a guy in black leather jacket.

“Oh fuck,” he mumbled under his breath.

“What is it?” Lacey asked.

“Milah.”

Quickly, her blue eyes flew to them, going wide. “Whoa, the runaway bitch is here?”

His heart was racing and he was getting nervous, tipping his fingers anxiously on the glass. He had gone to the farthest bar away from his house, from the church, their stupid town had, and she had gone there too? How was that possible?

“Can you stop saying those words?” He almost begged Lacey.

“No, that’s what I’m calling her from now on,” she returned with a playful smile, drinking the rest of her whiskey all at once and standing up.

“Do you play billiards?” She queried, her eyes dark and brooding.

“I don’t think so," he added, feeling his breath hitch in his throat from the way she gazed at him.

Rolling her eyes, Lacey pulled him from his stool, appearing to have a whole plan going through her sharp mind.

“Now you do. Just follow me, and here,” she led his fingers until they curled around the fabric of her black dress, which caused him to inhale sharply. "Place your hands on my waist," she commanded.

She walked right in front of him, keeping her hands in place. Lacey was a petite person and even with her high heels, she was still smaller than him, but what really bothered Gold was the fact that he was more in contact with her than he wished to be. And somehow, in some strange way, he was enjoying it.

“What are you doing?” He hissed when she led him to the billiard table.

“Showing that you don’t care,” Lacey smiled, taking a stick. “I’ll go first!”

At the other end of the bar, where she sat with the man in the leather jacket, Milah saw them and almost spit out her drink, coughing repeatedly, fixing her gaze on them, as if she was trying to be sure that it was really Gold who was in the bar with a girl much younger than both of them.

“She is looking at us,” he muttered uncomfortably.

Reclining herself, Lacey did the first shot, but none of the balls reached the holes, and she gestured for him to do the same. “I know, she is supposed to. If you want to know, you didn’t lose a thing by not marrying her, she is not that pretty.”

A small chuckle left his mouth as he also took a stick and positioned it to make his shot. Adam aimed a blue ball and hit the white one, making it go straight into the middle hole.

“Very good,” Lacey complimented, taking a quick look at Milah to see that she was still glancing at them. Wanting to give her what she deserved, she approached Adam, smiling at him seductively and touching his tie. “Kiss me, Mr. Gold.”

“What - ” he stammered in disbelief.

However, she didn’t let him finish his sentence. Lacey captured his lips in a heated kiss, and suddenly he was just a man in the bar, kissing that random pretty girl with no regret of the past. For that moment, he let go. He palmed her neck, pressing the beautiful brunette against the billiard table, sliding his tongue against her lips until she parted them, letting their tongues dance together in an incredibly slow rhythm.

It was the first time he'd kissed someone other than Milah in years, and the taste of whiskey in Lacey’s mouth, plus the way she was running her nails through his hair and massaging his scalp, sent delicious shivers through his body. God, he knew her for twenty whole minutes, and he already wanted her. He never felt this way about anyone in his whole life, this sudden recognition, as if her soul was being drawn to his from the moment she sat by him, as if she was this part of him he'd been missing this whole time.

And, of course, he knew those thoughts were crazy, and it must only be alcohol speaking for itself, starting to affect his subconscious, but right now, he was lost in Lacey French, and he didn’t want to be found anymore. She moaned in his mouth, pulling him closer so her whole body was in contact with his. They were probably offering the bar a small show, and he was about to pull away, when the shadow of another woman stopped right in front of them, storming out.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Milah practically screamed.

Lacey laughed before turning around to look at her, a smile of pure mockery playing upon her lips. “Excuse me?”

“You should be home with, Bae!” Milah accused Adam, ignoring her completely. “You should be taking care of your son, instead of coming to bars to hook up with minors!”

“Minor? I’m twenty-five!” Lacey protested.

“How ridiculous you sound. Isn’t that the same you’re doing, dearie?” Gold shouted back. “And now I see very clearly why you ran away from that church. Him.”

Adam’s eyes analysed the man behind Milah, gripping at her arm and insisting that she go back to their table or leave with him.  He was much younger and more handsome than he would ever be, but if she had been honest with him and told him about that guy, without making a fool of him in front of all their family and friends, Gold could've been more forgiving.

"Listen, mate - " the man started.

"I'm not your mate!" Gold seethed, a hand firmly pressed on Lacey's waist.

He could feel his blood boiling with rage; he couldn't understand how Milah even dared to come over to speak to him, to accuse him of something, when she was the one who had sabotaged everything he'd been planning the past year.

"Please, let's go to another place, Milah," the man said in a low, persuasive tone, "he is not worth your time. That's what you said to me earlier, remember?"

Taking a deep breath, she nodded. "At least I know the nanny knows how to take care of a child," she complained, "and you're right, he is not worth anyone's time. I bet he is paying this little whore for her company."

 Lacey gasped. "Listen up, bitch, I'm no whore."

In the next moment, she had pulled away from him and slapped Milah hard across the face. Lacey had gone to a lot of bars ever since her mother's death. She  had kissed lots guys, got some terrible headaches due to hangovers, but she had never got involved in any fight, however this woman had really annoyed her and when Milah returned the slap, Lacey kicked her hard in the shin, only to be dragged away by Gold.

"Are you mad?" He asked when he took her out of there, the people inside the bar following them with their eyes until they passed through the front door. "You didn't have to do that!"

"I didn't?" Lacey questioned. "She called me a whore! And she just insulted you!"

"Aye, but that doesn't matter," Gold said, looking for any abrasions on her skin. "Did she hurt you?"

"No, she has no strength," the brunette said in a distant voice.

She was looking down the street as if she was trying to take everything in, shivering with the cold of the night. Adam took off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders, making Lacey look startlingly at him, like this small gesture  meant too much to her. He brushed his fingertips across her flushed cheek, remembering their kiss and wanting more than anything to do it again.

"Would you allow me to take you out for coffee?" Adam inquired.

Biting her lip, Lacey considered his offer for a moment. "The library has a coffee maker, and I have the keys. What do you say about having some kind of midnight adventure with me, Mr. Gold?"

"I think,” he started with a smirk, “that's exactly what I need right now."

Taking his hand, she took him to the library and even though it wasn’t with Milah, Adam Gold had something of a proper wedding night, but with someone who seemed to be worth his time, more so than the woman he was intending to marry.

* * *

 Lacey stood nervously in front of the huge building that contained Mr. Adam Gold’s law firm in her most modest outfit, a small paper bag in her hands, deciding if she should enter. It had been exactly six weeks since their meeting at that seedy bar, and she'd looked for his address on the internet, but now that she was here, she wasn’t sure about anything.

During the last week, Lacey had made an important decision and that was what had brought her there, to him, the one man who had been capable of making her forget the stupid person she had turned herself into after her mother’s death for a night, because he had looked at her like he saw everything she was hiding. That healing time they both had, she would never be able to forget it, and Lacey was more than grateful for what he had done for her, how this broken man had healed her soul.

Now, Lacey felt like she owed him this, stifling back her anxiety, the brunette closed her fingers tightly around the paper bag, took a deep breath and pushed the front door of the building open.

She had a deal to offer him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it and let me know your thoughts about this fic.  
> Thank you for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lacey and Gold make a deal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was revised by the awesome Ethereal_Wishes.
> 
> I'm sorry for the delay with this fic, but I'd like to say that it is already fully written and I can't wait for you guys to see it all. Thanks for your patience.

The elevator’s doors opened with a low noise, allowing  Lacey to  walk through the corridor which led to Gold’s office.  She stepped out, inhaled deeply and went straight to the counter where a beautiful blonde woman was. Biting at her lip, Lacey stood in front of her, expecting to get her attention, but she seemed too preoccupied with the papers she was flipping through to see her. The brunette waited for another couple of seconds before cleaning her throat and making the assistant look up.

“Can I help you?” She asked, her badge indicated that her name was Ashley.

“Yeah, I need to see Mr. Gold.”

Putting the papers aside, the assistant moved to the desktop and tipped something, opening some kind of virtual schedule, before turning back to her. “Do you have an appointment?”

“Mm, no,” the brunette contemplated. “My name is Lacey, I’m a friend of his.”

“A friend?” Ashley chuckled, looking her up and down as if she had decided that Lacey definitely wasn't the sort of person Gold would have as a friend. “I’m sorry, but if you want to see him, you need to book an appointment.”

There was a small part of her conscience telling Lacey that she should do as the girl was saying and go home without causing a scandal in the office of the most incredible man she had ever met, but this voice belonged to her old self, the one who would curl on her bed with a book and cry all the day after the terrible week she had, her newest self was the one who cared about nothing else right now but getting to see Adam, whatever the cost.

“Really, do you want me to start screaming his name until I'm heard?” The brunette coerced.

And in that moment the doors opened, and Gold stepped into the waiting room with a tall man by his side, too distracted with their conversation to notice her presence at first.

“I'll see you as soon as all the documents arrive, Mr. Humbert, and…” he trailed off, training his eyes on her, standing in front of the counter. “Lacey, what are you doing here?”

From behind the counter the blonde attendant seemed to shrink. “I’m sorry, Mr. Gold.  I’ve tried to tell her that you don’t see anyone without an appointment.”

He waved his hand at the attendant, dismissing her, and fixing his gaze on Lacey, admiring how pure, clean, and shiny she looked. That night they spent together at the bar and the library, she was all made up and dressed for a night out, but today she seemed to be trying very hard to look better than that. Her dark-blue dress was still very short but it wasn't as tight as the other, and she was wearing a cream colored jacket that matched her small high heels.

“It’s alright, Ashley, cancel the next appointment, I’ll talk to Lacey,” he said with a smirk, walking towards the brunette and placing his hand on her back, nodding to his other client. “Good afternoon, Mr. Humbert.”

He opened the door, leading Lacey through the corridor until they reached his office, a spacious room with an oak desk, a row of bookshelves and comfortable velvet  armchairs.  He gesticulated for her to sit in a chair adjacent from his desk.

“Thank you, for having me,” Lacey smiled nervously, taking a seat and crossing one leg over the other.

“I have to confess that I didn’t expect to see you here,” he spoke as he reached for the coffee pot, pointing to it. “Coffee?”

Shaking  her head, the girl declined his offer. “No, thanks.”

He got a cup for himself before sitting in front of her with that welcoming smile that made her heart race. “So, what brings you here?”

She felt as if she was going to throw up and considering that it had already happened a couple of times that week, she didn't doubt she wouldn't. Her glance fell to the paper bag in her hands, and she took a deep breath before placing it on the desk between them.

“I’ll get straight to the point, so open the package, please.”

Gold raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as he picked it up and opened the bag, taking the small box out. His breath got caught in his throat as he reached for the contents in the box -- a thin stick with the two faint pink lines.

“A pregnancy test,” he mumbled under his breath.

“Yes,” Lacey confirmed, grasping at the arms of the chair, her palms growing damp with perspiration. She was waiting for a big reaction, she thought that he might scream at her or immediately throw her out of his office, but Gold was calm, even though she could see something that resembled panic in his brown eyes. “If you don’t know the meaning of the signal - ”

“Oh, I know the meaning, sweetheart, that’s for certain,” Adam assured her, placing it back on the desk and looking straight at her. "This is from that night at the library?”

And though she'd despaired over her situation, he still managed to make her smile.  Her hand gravitated to her flat stomach, and she was glad that out of every man she knew it was Gold who had fathered the baby she was carrying.

“You have a peculiar  way of trying to ask me if the child is yours without offending me. But I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t sure that it was," Lacey said sincerely. “However, I’ll understand if you want to take a paternity test after the baby is born.”

“Your word is enough for me,” Gold assured her. “So…”

He couldn't manage to complete a whole sentence anymore; he was stupefied, both wanting to slap himself for being so stupid and impregnating a twenty-five-year-old girl he met at a bar and wanting to hug her and kiss her, assuring Lacey that everything would be fine and they would have a beautiful baby that he would  love very dearly. The words just wouldn't  come while he was still in shock, but when she started to speak, he decided that it was better if he didn't say anything at all.

“Look, I’ve been thinking about this ever since I found out some days ago, and I can’t do this Gold. I can’t be a mother; my life is too screwed up for that. A kid deserves a happy childhood.”

Gold swallowed, trying to understand what she'd just said. “I – I thought we were keeping it.”

Lacey breathed in, and he could see the shattered girl from the bar coming to surface. “Well, I’m here because you already have a boy, so I guess you like children, so if you want it, I’m giving this baby to you the moment he or she is born. But please, don’t feel pressured to do it. I’ve read a lot about the adoption system, and they can do the work as well.”

“Great,” he grumbled with a gasp. “I truly don’t believe what I’m hearing.”

For six weeks, he had been trying to cope with the fact that his ex-fiancée didn't want custody of their son and preferred to see him during the weekends, and now he sat in his freaking office, hearing this girl tell him she was thinking of  giving his unborn child away. This couldn't possibly be real.

“You don’t need to feel pressed,” Lacey repeated.

“Yeah, I don’t, but you come here and tell me that you’re expecting my child and want me to analyse the situation coldly?” He shouted back at her angrily.

“Mr. Gold - ” Lacey muttered, shrinking.

“Adam," he corrected. "You called me Adam that night, call me Adam now.”

“Adam, right,” she nodded. “I’m just offering you another solution if you don't want it."

An offer, he asked himself if it was all for her or if she was just hiding herself under her shell again. But he couldn't evaluate it properly right now.  He was too pissed off, and he was too worried about what he should do next.

“The mother of my first child just left me at the altar six weeks ago; I’m trying to deal with my own problems, and you want me to decide if I want to raise two children all alone or throw an innocent babe into the system?”

“I’m sorry, it was a mistake,” she said grabbing her purse and standing up, tears shinning in her eyes. “I shouldn’t have come here.”

Eyes closing for a brief moment, Gold commanded: “Lacey, sit, please.”

When he looked at her again, she was sitting, tears running down her cheeks, her trembling hands gripping nervously at the handle of her purse.

“I know what you think," Lacey started, "but I’m not being selfish, if I was I would have been looking for abortion clinic on the internet, instead of coming here to humiliate myself and ask if you want this baby, but I want our child to live, and I really wanted to be able to be its mother, I’m just not the motherly type."

“Oh, Lacey,” he whispered, fighting against the urge of going to her and pulling her into his embrace. Now he had some priorities. “Have you drank anything these past few days?”

She shook her head. “No, I haven’t drank anything ever since that night.”

“Why not?” he asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

“I didn’t feel like I wanted to,” Lacey shrugged before pointing at her belly. “And then, this happened."

“Then this happened,” Gold repeated, looking down at the pregnancy test on his desk with an idea coming to his mind. “I’ll offer you a deal. You go to my house and stay there until the baby comes; I’ll provide you with everything you need during that time, and I’ll make sure you won’t go near a glass of whiskey.”

Lacey laughed weakly, still shedding some tears. “After that, you get the child?”

“Yes.”

“And you’ll raise it and love it?” She questioned, catching her lower lip between her teeth.

“Aye,” Gold agreed. “Do we have a deal?”

He wasn't sure if she was going to accept that, given all his conditions, but if they were going to do this, then he would make sure that his child was safe and healthy from the very start.

“We do.”

“I’ll make a contract,” Gold said, opening his laptop.

“A contract?" Lacey inquired. "I thought my word was enough for you.”

“It is, but if the child is to be mine, I need a paper signed that guarantees me of that.”

With a nod, she agreed, though she felt it was wrong.

…

Lacey went straight back to Gold's office after she closed the library. She had spent the day trying to convince herself that she was doing the right thing by making this crazy contract with him, but she was still uncertain. When she let herself fall into a chair in the waiting room with a loud sigh, Ashley looked at her inquisitively, but didn't say a thing, only plucked a piece of chocolate from her purse and took a bite of it. Gold appeared a whole hour later, carrying a laptop bag.

"You're here," he said as if surprised.

"We have a deal," she reminded him. "You said that I should go to your house tonight."

"Yeah, right. We shall stop at yours first, so you can pack some things."

Lacey nodded, standing up to follow him to the elevator. There wasn't a single part of her that wasn't nervous about his. Some weeks ago, they were having a half-drunk conversation at a bar that led to some incredible sex in the library and now they were here, their lives turned upside down more than ever before.

"Have you spoke with the runaway bitch?" She said in an attempt to alleviate the awkwardness of the situation, but her words seemed to startle him.

"Her name is Milah."

"I know, I just - " Lacey shook her head. "Forget it."

The elevator's doors opened, and they went straight to Gold's car, which was parked in front of the building. He greeted the security guard before opening the door for her, and allowing her to  settle herself inside. For some reason, she suspected that if she wasn't expecting his child, they would have never seen each other again after that night at the bar. They didn't speak during the car ride to her house.  She only opened her mouth to say the address and then the car was drowned in silence, her thoughts making her compare how different their lives were. Gold had been at that bar out of sheer coincidence.  She had been there for too long, drinking to forget all of her problems.

As they stopped in front of her house, Lacey looked down at her belly and sniffled, remembering that she hadn't yet told her father that she was pregnant, but now he would probably be too drunk or passed out to mind her presence at home.

"Are you sure your father will be alright with you leaving?"

"He won't even notice," she muttered bitterly. "As long as I come here once a week to bring food, I could move to California, and he wouldn't realize that I was gone."

"I know how it feels," Gold said emphatically, but she didn't know exactly what he meant.

Opening the car door, she went inside the house, finding Moe sleeping on the couch, her eyes narrowing as she felt the nauseating  smell of beer all around the living room. There were three empty bottles on the floor near him, but Lacey bet that he had way more than that. She sighed and walked towards the hallway to her room, packing some essentials, before going back to the car, with only one suitcase.

"That's all you have?" Gold asked, glancing at her bag when she placed it in the backseat.

"Obviously not," Lacey answered with a roll of her blue eyes, "but I don't have any more suitcases, and I can always come here to take more clothes when I need them."

He nodded wordlessly and started driving again. Lacey pulled her jacket around her lithe frame, feeling cold as she leaned her head against the window, watching the landscape swiftly passing by.

"We need to find a doctor to check on you," Gold stated in a low voice.  However she was so sleepy by the lulling of the engine that she didn't realise that her eyes were almost closed. "I want to make sure that this baby is fine."

"As you wish, Mr. Gold," she muttered.

"And there is something else," he added, "my son will definitely not understand this situation. He is four and just watched his mother move away with her boyfriend, so I don't want him to be confused about us too."

She snorted at the thought of such a young boy having such a tough life. But she didn't let her bitter tone show because of it. "Alright, so I shall hide in your attic and only come out when he is not around?"

"That's not what I meant," Gold defended himself. "I'll tell him you're a friend of mine who is helping me to give him a little sibling."

"Yeah, that explains everything perfectly as long as he is over the old stork story," she mocked. "But seriously, Adam, I'll do whatever you want to keep this deal up, I just really want to have this child instead of putting it up for adoption."

Lacey meant every single word she said. He had a stable life, money, was maybe still heartbroken over all the things that had happened lately, but for the short time she had spent with him, she could say that Adam had a big warm heart with enough love to father a child.  And if she wasn’t sure that she would ruin the kid if she was around after the birth, she acknowledged that he was already a good father, and he didn't need her.  She would only make things worse if she stuck around.

She had an amazing mother for years and knew how to distinguish what was a good childhood and what wasn’t. The life Lacey had to offer to her child now surely didn’t fit into the good side, and as a girl who had dealt with an alcoholic father for years, she wasn’t going to give herself the chance of becoming the female version of  Moe French.

Glancing at Gold out of the corner of her eyes, she saw that his lips were pressed into a thin line, but he tried to give her a half smile, though he appeared to be terribly haunted, he still looked handsome. "Well, prepare yourself to meet my little Baden."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lacey meets Baden.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was revised by the wonderful Ethereal_Wishes.
> 
> When I started this fic I never though I would get so caught up writing Golden Lace, but I did and I definitely think that I should write more about them at some point.  
> I hope you guys like this chapter!

Gold lived in a big salmon house, nestled in one of the most distinct parts of town. He had purchased it years ago, when he'd made his success as a lawyer, and ever since it had been his home. Now, however, he had a son living there and was bringing a girl that was pregnant with his next child under his wing too, everything seemed confusing. Gold felt both angry with Lacey's decision and blessed for being given this child, apart from any circumstances. He parked his car in front of the house and there was an awkward moment where the two of them just sat there, without speaking and without knowing what to do. Lacey decided she'd had enough of it and opened the door, getting out of the car. It took him another couple of seconds to follow her to the doorstep.

He took his keys from his pocket, toying nervously with them, a little afraid of the next move. Lacey however, didn't seem to have any patience to deal with his uncertainty now.

"Will you open the door or do you intend us to spend the rest of the night outside?" She asked, sarcastically.

"I'm sorry," Adam answered, plunging the key in the lock.  He gesticulated for Lacey to enter the house. "Welcome, I do hope you can feel at home here."

What he truly hoped, was that at some point he would wake up and realize it all had been a dream and none of this was really happening. How was he capable of making a fool of himself this way? Had he really started writing a contract that guaranteed him full custody of the baby he had conceived with a much younger girl in a bar the night he was rejected by his bride? What kind of joke had his life turned into?

"Thank you," Lacey said a little too emphatically, before stepping in.

He followed her, leaving his laptop bag near the coatrack, assisting the brunette with her own coat.  He walked towards the living room, seeing some toys spread on the floor. A soft genuine smile twitched at his mouth for the first time that day.

"Bae?" Gold called.

A little boy came running from the other end of the room, where he had been with his redheaded chubby nanny, throwing  himself in his father’s arms. Lacey couldn’t help but smile at that scene. Bae was the cutest thing she had ever laid her eyes on, his brows were a little wavy, his dark eyes shiny and a red superhero cape cascaded down his shoulders.  That made her wonder for a brief moment if her child would be  look as adorable as its half-brother. However, she quickly rid herself of those thoughts, remembering that she shouldn’t under any circumstances get attached to this baby. The separation would hurt even more if she started to care about it.

"Papa!"

"How is my boy?” Gold asked, touching his cheek affectionally. “Did you have a great day at school?"

"Yeah, I drew something for you," Baden replied happily, rushing back to where he had been playing, opening the small full-coloured backpack that was resting on the floor.

Lacey thought that Gold’s house was definitely beautiful, but surely too dark. It had large windows to let the light in, but every single piece of furniture was painted in some shade of colour that was darker than her soul and it somehow made her feel a little depressed. In the past, her mother had furnished their tiny home with all white things and cheerful decorations, and the urge of doing the same to Gold’s house made her heart constrict in her chest.

Breathing in, Lacey shook her head. Her hormones must have been acting up for her to have such stupid thoughts.

"Mrs. Nolan said he is doing great," she caught the nanny saying to Gold.

"I bet he is, thank you Helga," Adam said sincerely, before touching the girl’s arm to get her attention, gesticulating in the woman’s direction. "Lacey, this is Bae's nanny, Helga Potts. Helga, this is Lacey, she is going to spend a couple of months here."

“It is a pleasure to meet you,” Mrs. Potts answered, offering Lacey a brief handshake. "Do you want me to prepare one of the guestrooms for her before I leave?"

Gold nodded and Lacey realised that his nervous hand was still on her arm, stroking it so gently that it brought back memories of their night together, making her want to whisper to him that she didn’t want to be in any bedroom that night which wasn’t his, but she kept quiet. "I would be very grateful."

"Alright, it will be ready in a minute, Mr. Gold."

Helga disappeared up the staircase, and Baden toddled back over to where they were, a paper in his hands, but his deep brown gaze fixed on Lacey, as if now he realised she was there.

"Papa, who is she?" The little boy asked.

"This beautiful young woman, Bae, is a friend of mine,” Gold explained, kneeling on the floor, so their faces were at the same level. “Her name is Lacey."

"Hi,” he waved at her. “I'm Baden!"

"I know,” she returned with a smirk, “it is very nice to meet you, little boy."

Brushing at his son’s shoulder, Gold gathered the courage he needed to begin telling him in the softest way he could about the deal he had made with her; he just needed to find the right words to do so and not startle the boy.

"Is it ok for you if she stays with us for a while?"

"Yeah,” Bae agreed, before his eyebrows narrowed in concern, and he asked: “Is she homeless?"

Biting at her lip, Lacey suppressed a laugh.

"No, my boy,” Gold answered with a chuckle, “actually she's here to help me give you a gift."

"A gift?” Baden’s eyes glowed. “I want it, can I see it?"

"Not yet."

"Can you tell me what is it?" He begged, showing his father those puppy dog eyes that he knew Gold wasn’t able to deny.

The problem, however, was that Adam seemed to have lost his ability to speak, because he didn’t know how to explain to his son that he had a one-night stand with a random woman in a bar, and gotten her pregnant. He was struggling to understand how it had happened, and he didn’t know what exactly to tell his boy, until an old remembrance popped up in his mind.

"Remember when you used to ask your mama to give you a sibling to play with?" He asked Bae and the boy nodded. "Well, Lacey will bring one for you."

"You're having a baby?" Baden asked, stunned.

"I am," Lacey mumbled hesitantly, but in the second she finished her short sentence, Gold’s son threw his arms around her legs, surprising her and making her lose her balance a little. "Whoa."

"Thank you!” the boy said, sincerely. “Can it please be a boy?"

"I - "

"None of us get to choose what it is, son.” Gold interrupted, probably knowing that she had no idea of what she was going to say. “But now, can you promise me that you'll be good to Lacey while she is here?"

Nodding emphatically, Bae spoke. "Sure!"

"Great, go get ready for dinner."

Gathering his backpack, Baden ran upstairs to his bedroom, and she just stood there, looking at the cheerful boy, almost jumping with happiness at a situation she considered a disaster.

"I have to admit, you have the sweetest kid in this universe. I was expecting him to freak out."

"Nah,” Adam grumbled, rising from the floor. “Bae is passive most of the time, and he is just a child who has no idea how messed up this is."

"Mr. Gold, the bedroom is ready," Helga informed him, walking towards them. "If you'll  excuse me, I'm going home. See you tomorrow."

"Bye, Mrs. Potts," Gold replied, watching as the nanny disappeared down the hallway before turning back to Lacey. "Care to see your room?"

She nodded, allowing him to rest his hand on her back, leading her upstairs. His touch was warm through the fabric of her dress, the firmness of his fingers against her, making her heart race and her breath get caught in her throat. He was too close, but not as close as she wanted him to be.  Of course, by the moment they sealed the deal, she knew that nothing would ever happen between them again, but that didn’t prevent her from still wanting him, because Lacey had never felt so good as she had in his arms.

Upstairs there was a large hallway with five doors, one which was open. Gold took her straight there, turning on the lights to allow her to get a better look inside. Lacey held her breath. It was wonderful. The walls were  covered by cream wallpaper, the bed, a queen-sized one had rosy covers and red sheets, a desk was set on one side near the nightstand, and two doors led to a closet and an en-suite bathroom. She could almost imagine were she would place every item she had brought with her, because even though the furniture’s dark wooden shade still didn’t please her, the simple perfection of all the rest eclipsed this small detail.

"It's huge, comfortable,” Lacey commented, walking around, a little stunned.  She let herself fall on the bed with a grateful smile. “Thanks."

Gold’s lips were slightly curved in that sad, half-smirk he used at the bar when they'd met, but his eyes were fixated on the floor when he muttered: "Do you mind if I book an ultrasound for you?"

"Not at all," she answered, tracing the patterns on the duvet. "Adam?"

"Yes?"

Lacey took a deep breath, then lifted her chin, recovering her strength. "Are you mad at me?"

"For what?" He questioned with an arched brow.

"Getting pregnant," the brunette shrugged. "Do you hate me for that?"

Lifting his head to look straight at her, Adam appeared to be as broken as he was after being left at the altar by his bride, his greying hair falling beautifully in front of his eyes. In his unique way, he was the most handsome man Lacey had ever met. Screw all the young, good-looking boys she knew, nothing could compare to his beauty and the fact that he was way older than her only excited her more.

"No, of course not, why would I?"

"I know you're mad at me for some reason,” she pointed out. “I can feel it."

"Lacey - " he tried to say, but she stood up, walking slowly to him, while she shook her head.

"It's alright, I'm used to it."

"Papa, I'm hungry!" They heard Baden calling from the end of the hall.

 Gold gesticulated in the direction of the stairs. "Do you like pizza?"

"Who doesn't?"

* * *

 

"Lacey?" She heard a distant voice call, too distant for her sluggish state to pay any  attention to it, so she ignored it, but it insisted: "Lacey?"

"Mm?"

"Lacey!" The voice called louder, right in her ear.

A scream escaped her lips, and she sat up quickly on the bed, and she almost made Baden fall to the floor. He gripped the bedcovers to steady himself, staring at the unkempt young woman, untidy in her cotton turquoise pyjamas.

"What the - " she started, before realising that she was speaking with a child and should control her tongue. "Geez, you scared the hell out of me, kid."

"Sorry," Bae mumbled. He was dressed in a black school uniform and seemed way too awake  and ready for school. "You said a bad word, Papa says we should never say bad words."

If Baden thought that “hell” was a bad word, she couldn’t imagine how he would react if he heard his father speaking all the curses he did while he was with her in the library.

"How hypocritical," she whispered under her breath, throwing the covers back and standing to her feet.

Bae slipped off the bed, following Lacey around the bedroom as she picked some clothes from the drawers, where she had organized them the night prior. "Papa said breakfast is served and you should hurry, or you'll be late."

"Well, thank you, I'll change," she waved the clothes at him, and the boy shrugged, making his way to the door, but suddenly, he stopped, looking back at her.

"Lacey?"

"What is it?"

"When will I be able to see the baby?" He questioned.

"Not for quite awhile,” she told him, “but maybe we can feel it moving soon."

"Cool." 

Rolling her eyes, Lacey mumbled something to herself about not needing an alarm clock anymore, if Bae was to wake her up every single morning this way, and a great part of her suspected that it was Adam who had commanded him to wake her, because someone  so sweet, wasn’t able of plotting to annoy her this way by his own will.

Stripping her pyjamas, she pulled on the clothes and shoes she had picked and grabbed her purse, going downstairs to find the house filled with an incredible smell of something baking, which made her heart warm. Lacey hadn’t eaten anything homemade ever since her mother had died.  She and her father constantly bought frozen food, and she only got to eat something really delicious when she stopped by her friend Ruby’s house and stole a bit of her grandmother’s superb cooking. 

Her stomach made a low grumble  of desperate need for the food, and she entered the kitchen where Bae was sitting at the breakfast table and Gold was standing in front of the stove, flipping some pancakes.

"Good morning," Adam said, when he heard her pulling up a chair and sitting near his son.

"Morning."

"I hope you like panc..." he started to say, preparing a plate for her and turning around to place it on the table, his gaze fixated on her outfit, and he swallowed hard. "Is that what you wear to work?"

"Most days," Lacey replied with a shrug, picking up the fork and the knife, slicing into a pancake.

"A see through white blouse and a black bra?" Adam inquired, arching a brow.

"Enjoying the view, Mr. Gold?"

"I - I - " he stammered, his face turning bright red, his gaze still locked on her transparent blouse.

"I'm just making fun of you," Lacey guffawed, when he looked away. "You're blushing."

Each one of his features showed how much he was uncomfortable, and she knew  if Adam still had the plate in his hands, he would have already dropped it on the floor. They had almost forgot about Baden's presence, but the good thing was that he wasn't paying much attention to their conversation and even if he was, Bae wouldn't have understood a thing they were implicitly saying, however, when his small voice spoke again, both of them looked at him a little startled.

"Papa will you drop me off at school before work?"

"Of course I will," Gold said.  "And I'll take Lacey to her work at the library afterwards."

"You work in a library?" Bae asked, interested.

Lacey grinned, glancing at him over her plate of pancakes. "Yep."

"Can you take me there someday?"

"Sure, why not?"

Baden granted her a giant smile as he reached for the honey and spread some over his pancakes. "I like you."

"I like you too, wee one," Lacey answered, and saying those simple words to him was like being drawn to an entire new universe that she was sure she would soon become addicted to, just like a truly exhilarating book. 

And if those experiences had taught her anything,  it was that it was near impossible to step back when you already had a new passion filling your thoughts all the time. Surely this life, flirting with Gold at the breakfast table and making little Bae giggle seemed to be exactly the kind of one that would be the end of her, because it would make her happy.  She was going to be forced to give away her baby and leave, and it would destroy her even more than her mother’s death had.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lacey have a talk with Ruby.  
> Milah comes to pick Bae for the weekend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, I'm back with this fic, because I have a weird feeling that I need to finish things just now. Maybe something exciting is going to happen soon? I don't know, but maybe, huh?  
> Well, anyway, I'm now gifting this fic to my lovely beta Ethereal_Wishes (I honestly think I owe her this, as Vowed For Eternity turned out to be a messy angsty fic). And you might notice this chapter won't sound as great as the firsts, because she haven't edited it - I poorly did -, but she is working hard on her new book and all I hope is it turns out to be amazing.

Fridays were dead days at the library. From the moment Lacey opened it to noon, exactly five people had entered the place, three to quickly retrieve some books before leaving hurriedly, but the good part of it, was she could do all the work she had in some hours and then just sit by her desk to make some research on the internet. She was so lost between the pages she had been reading, she didn’t realise someone had been watching over her shoulder.

“I thought you were the one to say internet researches are not the safest ones, but books were,” Ruby’s voice said in a languid tone behind her.

Turning around, Lacey shrugged. “I’m not in the mood for a five hundred pages read, and I just wanted some quick information about pregnancy.”

“You know, I can’t really believe you offered the kid to Gold.”

Ruby Lucas was dressed in a pair of black trousers and a red patterned blouse, tipping the heels of her ankle boots on the wooden floor of the silent library. She was Lacey's best friend ever since they were little girls, and the two of them never got to be separated, even when life took them to different places, they always found some time to be a little rebel together, or to just sit and talk like they were doing now.

“He will provide it a good home, that’s all that matters. You’re pretty aware of how much my life is screwed up to add a baby to it,” Lacey said in her most distant tone.

Ever since she found out about that pregnancy, she was preventing herself to think much of it, to letting her hands flew to caress her belly or to even give much thought for the fact that wanting it or not, there was a baby growing inside of her.

A grin formed on Ruby’s lips as she counted: “Yeah, I was the one holding your hand on the funeral, the one holding your hair when you drowned your stomach in alcohol and obviously the one who offered you a shoulder to cry in the morning you discovered the best sex you had in your entire life had earned you a child.”

“The best friend I could ask for,” the blue-eyed girl contemplated.

Folding her arms, Ruby leaned against the desk, analysing her friend in an attempt to find any traces of sadness that weren't there before. “Is he treating you well, Lacie?”

“He is a freaking gentleman," Lacey said, whining as if it was a terrible thing, "his kid is funny and cute, I have an enormous bedroom and I’m trying to keep myself from begging him to me take me to his bed.”

“You still want him?” Ruby blinked.

“Am I sounding like a little slutty?" She asked, now aware she might have to kept her mouth shut. "I really don't want to, but I can't help myself.”

"Poor, screwed up, Lacey," her friend mumbled opening her arms for a hug. "Come here, friend.”

Lacey stood up to let Ruby wrap her in her embrace for a brief comforting moment, before pulling away to sit again. She was feeling sick and tired today, thanks to her newfound pregnancy, but at least she had been able to keep her breakfast in her stomach.

"He is making a contract," Lacey told her with a sigh, placing her hands on her belly, before she realised what she was doing and pulled them away.

"A contract?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "to assure I'll keep up with our part of the deal and give him the baby when it is born."

Her friend raised an eyebrow. "Too prevented, don't you think?"

Lacey stretched herself a little, feeling her body was sore, even though she had done nothing to be so tired and hurt. "The guy is a lawyer, Ruby, he lives on contracts and I can't really blame him for wanting a guarantee."

"He really wants that kid, huh?"

"Gold is a good father for Baden and he is quite lonely for all I know, since that bitch Milah left him totally ashamed at the church. I guess he is relishing in having children surrounding him, but that is good, because at least I won't have to spend the rest of my life feeling guilty for putting this baby on the adoption system."

Biting on her lip, Ruby appeared to be thinking too much about it, because she cared about her friend and wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing. When they researched for Gold's address on the internet, they had found out not everybody considered him a good man. Actually, most people that were not his clients, showed an enormous hate over him, however Lacey seemed to have seen something in him the others didn't and she just prayed she wasn't wrong.

"Haven't you thought about co-parenting?"

"It's not going to work for me," Lacey shrugged. "But I'm not all heartless and I care enough to assure this little one will be happy."

"So, you made that crazy deal."

Lacey waved her head positively leaning against the back of her chair. "Yeah, I did. Now I just have to survive in Gold's house for the next seven months."

"Good luck, girl," Ruby wished.

* * *

 

She locked the library's double doors, pulling up a coat to keep herself safe from the cold wind of the night, distracted with her thoughts. Turning around, she saw Gold's black car parked there, with him standing right there watching her silently.

"Oh, you're here," Lacey muttered, "I was going to walk to your office."

"I don't want you to do much effort in your condition and those streets are not always safe," Adam explained.

"Well, thanks, but I neither need a bodyguard nor are unable to take a walk," she said harshly than she should, regretting her manners by the moment she finished the sentence. Lacey snorted, folding her arms and walking towards him. "This kid is probably not even the size of a grape yet."

Gold shrunk, opening the car's door and getting in. "I'm just taking care of you."

Catching her lower lip between her teeth, Lacey inhaled deeply, feeling her dry eyes burn with a strange need to cry. Those hormones were already killing her and the fact Gold was being so gentle, only crushed her heart a little bit more, making her put her walls up, too afraid to be the open book he deserved her to be.

"Get in the car, dearie," Adam insisted softly and she obeyed, settling herself in the passenger’s seat, before he started to drive. "I called doctor Whale today, he will see you after you complete your eighth week, so he can take a look at the baby," he informed.

"Right."

She wasn't sure if she truly wanted to take the ultrasound, but she had agreed to all of his conditions and she knew it was important to know for sure if the baby was healthy, but Lacey felt despair just to wonder if seeing the image of her child would affect her, like women used to say it did. Truth be told, she was frightened to think she might feel attached to that child even if she didn't want to. Lacey looked through the window for quite a long time, before Gold felt the need to speak again.

"Milah is going to pick up Bae tomorrow morning."

"Oh, so you two got to an arrangement?" Lacey questioned.

He chuckled humourless. "If what you mean for arrangement is me getting his full custody and she popping up occasionally when it is convenient for her, then yes, we did."

"Back to the bitterness," she murmured, but the guilty hit her so hard because of his words, that she couldn't help vocalizing her thoughts. "I'm another freaking bitch just like her, aren't I? I'm giving my child away, because I can't take responsibility."

"I'm not going to answer this," Adam replied, his jaw tightened and his tense hands gripping hardly at the car's wheel.

"You don't need to, it wasn't a question."

A knot seemed to form on her throat and Lacey swallowed twice in an attempt to get rid of it, but it didn't work, so she just looked away, trembling, the remorse for accepting that deal eating her alive. She mentally repeated to herself that she was doing the right thing, but it was difficult to believe it, when she was so shaken with the possibility of not being so different of Milah.

"It is the first time Bae is going to spend a whole day alone with her. I'm a little nervous," Adam continued, after a minute.

"You're a lawyer," the brunette shrugged, "cut the bitch out."

"A child needs its mother, I can't just push Milah completely away, because I hate her," he spoke, causing an incredulous gasp to leave her mouth and Adam looked at her from the corner of his eyes, his lips tensing in a thin line, before he managed to mutter: "I'm sorry I didn't mean - "

Taking a deep breath, she nodded, although she was feeling her vision start to blurry with unshed tears. "It's ok, I do understand you."

"No,” Gold shooked his head, grabbing the wheel more firmly with one hand while he reached for her with the other, laying it on her thigh and rubbing his thumb against the fabric of her black skirt, which made her heart race. “It is not right for me to keep saying those things to you, just because I'm upset. We have a deal from the very start, we both agreed it would be for the best. It's just Milah gets on my nerves and I'm seriously worried about my son."

"You don't need to explain yourself to me, Adam," she said, so low that she doubted he had heart, and yet he did.

"I know, but I want to."

Everything that passed through her mind was the fact he still kept his hand on her thigh and didn’t seem to be willing to take it off of there so soon. Of course, that shouldn’t be a surprising thing for them, since they had already been intimate and she was carrying his child, but it was, because everything was very new for both of them and they weren’t supposed to be crossing any lines on that moment. Not that they were, as his circling motion on her skirt was only an arousing thing on Lacey’s mind and he was doing it almost unconsciously.

When they reached the street where his house was located, Adam pulled away, pulling up the hand brake as they stopped. She drained some air and opened the door, not waiting for him, just going straight to the doorstep. Gold quickly followed her, allowing the brunette in and Lacey was ready to take her way to her bedroom when the sight of Baden eating all alone by the dining table, swiping his feet in the air as Helga watched from the corner of the room, made her stop.

“Hey, buddy,” she greeted the little boy.

“Hi, Lacey!” He answered happily. “Are you hungry?”

“Totally, what do we have for dinner?”

“Grilled fish!”

Approaching him to take a look at the contents of his plate, Lacey was hit by a wave of the smell of the fish and it made her stomach twist painfully, the bile almost suffocating her as she started to cough desperately and rushed to the bathroom that was near the small office. She only had time enough to kneel in front of the toilette before throwing up everything she had eaten during that day. A moment later, she felt someone holding her hair away from her face.

“Oh, God, I’m so sorry,” Lacey mumbled to Adam. “The smell of the food - ”

“It’s alright, sweetheart, you’re pregnant. That’s normal.”

“I’m feeling sick all the time for the last two weeks, but that’s mainly in the morning, after that I only get a sore body.”

Caressing her eyebrow, Gold nodded understandably and helped her to stand up on her feet. Lacey was a little trembling, so he led her to the living room, helping her sit on the couch.

“Is everything alright?” Helga asked appearing by the doorstep. “Bae is asking what happened with Miss French.”

“It’s just a sickness, Mrs. Potts,” Adam explained. “Can you get a glass of water for her, please?”

Waving her head positively, she went to the kitchen and came back with the water, offering the glass to Lacey, who took it thirstily, thanking her next and letting Mrs. Potts disappear again, probably to gather her things, as her working time was already over.

“So, no grilled fish for you tonight. What do you say about some vegetables and meat? I can cook for you.”

“You cook?” Lacey questioned.

“Absolutely,” Gold smiled, brushing at her hair with his fingers, “so, would you like me to make you dinner?”

If she wanted him to cook for her? She’d prefer to have him taking off her clothes right there on the couch, just for being so incredibly amazing, but as she wasn’t going to say this, Lacey only nodded, her cheeks a little flushed with the thoughts. Adam showed her that breath-taking smirk and stood up, making his way to the kitchen. Lacey remained there alone, thinking, until the moment Baden joined her.

“Mrs. Potts said you got sick because the baby doesn’t like fish,” he bounced sitting next to her, “that’s a pity. The fish was really good.”

Laughing really loud, she shook her head to Bae and waited for her special dinner, making a remark to never get closer to any kind of grilled fish until that baby was out of her.

* * *

 

On the Saturday morning, Lacey woke up really earlier and as much a she tried to go back to sleep, it was completely impossible. She went downstairs, turning on the TV and switching between the channels, in an attempt to find something interesting to watch, but the morning schedule was mainly composed of news and meteorology. The house was silent and she curled in the couch, opening some inutile apps on her phone, not truly interested in any of them, just feeling grateful that her sickness hadn’t yet appeared. After some minutes of doing utterly nothing, Lacey realised she was nervous and it wasn’t because of anything related to herself, but it was because Milah was going to pick Bae later.

She knew it was absurd that she was so worried about the boy spending some time with his mother, but Lacey knew Milah from the bar and her story of abandoning Gold at the altar and she thought that this woman didn’t deserve to get any near to them ever again. Standing up, she bit on her nail, struggling with her childish habit of nibbling at it and taking off the black nail polish. Lacey pulled her fingers away from her mouth, walking around the living room, until something called her attention. A glassware full of whiskey bottles.

Her mouth started to water for a sip of it, her nervous state not helping her to not want a drink and she walked towards it, opening the transparent door and taking one of the bottles in her hands. She opened the lid, the smell fluttering to her nose as she licked her own lips, desirably, but she knew she couldn’t drink, what only made her feel worse, her stomach flipping with guilty. _The baby_ , Lacey thought, _they baby needs to stay safe._

“What are you doing?” A voice behind her asked and she jumped, almost dropping the bottle.

“I - ” Lacey swallowed hard.

“You were going to drink it?” Gold asked harshly. He was wearing patterned pyjama pants and a soft robe was laced around his waist, she could see that he didn’t wear a shirt beneath it, his smooth chest appearing on the gaps. “Answer me! You were going to drink? Have you already drank?”

“No!” She shouted back. “ _Jesus_ , Adam, I’m not _that irresponsible_ , I was just taking a look at your million dollars collection.”

He inhaled deeply, trying to calm himself as she placed the bottle back to its place and closed the glassware. Lacey was looking terribly innocent and young, even though her narrowed eyes combined with the annoyance in her face ruined that image completely, but she definitely seemed like a teenager in her turquoise pyjama set, her eyes smudgy with the remains of her make-up and her hair an auburn mess of curls.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered. “I always get to say the wrong thing.”

“Can’t blame you,” Lacey shrugged. “You met me in a bar, drowning myself in tequila. Why would I stop drinking when I’m pregnant? I clearly have no interest in the child, so it’s easy to think the worse.”

“Both of us know this is a lie, you pretend you don’t, but you care, otherwise you would have never come to me.”

There was a knock on the front door and before Gold could even think about moving, Lacey left the living room, crossing the hallway to open it, finding Milah waiting on the other side. When the dark-haired woman saw her, her jaw tightened, her greyish eyes narrowing as Lacey sucked a breath.

“What are you doing here?” Milah asked.

“You came to pick Bae,” the brunette said, nodding slightly, “I’m sorry but you’ll have to wait. He hasn’t had breakfast yet.”

“Of course, he hasn’t, I told Adam I wanted to have breakfast with him, which he would have minded to tell you if your services on his bed weren’t more interesting than thinking about his own son.”

“Oh, screw you,” Lacey almost spitted at her. “You know nothing about us.”

“Mama!” Baden exclaimed, coming up running through the hallway, before jumping on his mother’s arms. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Bae,” Milah answered, putting him back on the floor. “Why don’t you wait for me on the car with my friend Killian? Mama will be there in a minute.”

Bae waved his head positively, rushing to the car that was parked outside, just behind Gold’s, he opened the backdoor and entered it without thinking twice, while his father walked slowly to where Lacey was, still standing in front of his ex-fiancée. He placed a hand on the brunette’s waist, bringing her close, just like he had done on the bar, as if she was a shield against his problems.

“Good morning, Milah.”

“I thought she would be just a one-night stand, but it seems that only a couple of hours are not enough for you,” she said, bitterly. “Have a great time with your little whore, but I’m warning you, Adam, I don’t want this drunk bitch any near to my son.”

Lacey was about to shout a couple of bad words at her, but Gold started to rub at her back in a clear advice for her to be quiet as Milah turned her back to them and went back to the car, where Killian and Bae were waiting for her, leaving the two of them alone.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gold finishes their contract, but it causes an unexpected reaction in Lacey.

The weekend was torturous to both Gold and Lacey. They spent their time walking around the house without talking too much, doing their respective works and staying as far from the other as they could, because both knew if they got alone for much time, they were probably going to repeat everything that had happened in the library and led them to that awkward situation and they didn’t need to make things even weirder. Both were concerned about Baden and were unable to relax, until the moment Milah dropped him on the Sunday night.

Lacey was hidden in her bedroom when the little boy arrived, but she peeked a look outside the window, watching until Milah’s car disappeared on the road to sigh in relive and fall back on her bed, curling herself under the covers as she texted Ruby, telling her how much she hated Gold’s ex-fiancée. She slept fairly better than she had done in the night prior and woke up early, to the sound of her alarm clock buzzing in the nightstand.

After getting dressed, she went downstairs, where Bae was already having breakfast, while Gold walked around the kitchen with his cell phone glued to his ear, a grimace on his face.

“Hey, buddy,” she greeted Baden. “Is everything alright with your father?”

“Yeah,” the little boy answered using his spoon to mix the cereal in his bowl. “It’s work.”

“Mm,” Lacey mumbled, serving herself with food that hopefully didn’t bother her baby and wasn’t going to be wasted later, leaving her starving, but unable to eat again.

Gold closed his old phone’s lid, finishing the call, running a hand through his greying hair as he glanced back at the breakfast table, an idea that could save his day popping up on his head. He walked towards Lacey, placing a hand on her shoulder and making her girl look up at him with a mistrustful look in her gorgeous blue eyes.

“Can I ask you a favour, sweetheart?”

“It depends on what is it.”

“Ashley called from my office, we have an unforeseen situation and I need to go there earlier. Can you take Bae to the school for me, please?”

Nibbling at her lip, Lacey glanced between Gold and Bae. The school wasn’t far from the house and it was on the way to the library, so she was going to have to pass through there anyway, but as she hadn’t spoken much with the boy since his mother brought him back, she imagined if Milah had said something that was able to chance the way they had been interacting on the last few days, which got her a little worried, but she nodded in confirmation, because she wasn’t going to deny something to Gold when he was asking her with those puppy brown eyes.

“Sure,” Lacey agreed, “Bae and I will have a good walk, right buddy?”

“Right!” Bae smiled.

“Thank you!” Gold said sincerely, grabbing his suit jacket and pulling it on. “I see you when the library closes, _and Bae_ , be good to Lacey.”

“Yes, papa,” the little boy muttered, receiving a quick kiss on the top of his head from his father, who smiled at the girl and rushed to his car.

_And there she was_ , Lacey thought, getting the responsibility, she didn’t want to have and taking care of the son of the man she met in a bar. _That’s how you lose control of your own life._ She sighed, but ate in silence, sending Bae to brush his teeth after they took their way to the school, the copy of the house keys Gold had given her on the Saturday night, seeming to be a high weight she was very conscious of, on the pocked of her cardigan.

Baden walked happily, with his hand tucked in hers and a giant smile on his face, as if it was the first time he was going to school, what made her ask herself why he seemed so joyful, until the moment he didn’t. A frown took place on his face as he glanced at her.

“Lacey my mama said I shouldn’t like you,” he confessed. “But I told her I already do and you are going to give a baby to papa.”

She knew that moment would come. Milah hated her too much to keep her mouth shut, even more if her son said such thing to her.

“Bae…” the brunette tried to start, but for a moment she didn’t find the right words, and ended up muttering: “you shouldn’t have told her that I’m pregnant.”

“I’m happy you’ll have a baby,” Baden continued, “I just thought she would be too, but all she did was say some bad things about you.”

“Your mother doesn’t like me,” Lacey shrugged.

A part of her wanted to know what Milah had told the boy, but a bigger part insisted it was better if she remained without the acknowledge of what scandalous things that woman had told her own son about her. She just hoped for the sake of poor Baden’s mind, she hadn’t used the same words she did after leaving in the morning she picked him for the weekend.

“She doesn’t like anyone, not even my papa,” he shrunk. “Sometimes I don’t even know if she likes me.”

At those words, Lacey stopped walking, kneeling to look into his brown eyes, a perfect copy of his father’s. She couldn’t believe she had heard this from a four-year-old’s mouth. How could a little boy not be sure if he was loved by his own mother? But looking down at her still flat belly, she suddenly knew why and her eyes got filled with tears.

“Of course, she likes you, Bae,” Lacey assured him. “Why wouldn’t she? You’re an incredibly smart boy.”

Baden’s glance fell to the floor. “She never even walked me to school.”

“Never?” The brunette blinked.

“She always said she was too busy for that.”

_What a bitch_ , her mind popped. Lacey had to fight her urge to pull Baden into a tight embrace, although she had affectionally touched his face, brushing away some tears he had let scape, silently.

“Well, I know I’m not your mother, but I’m walking you to school right now and you don’t want to be late, right? So, let’s go and maybe and can buy you some candies when I go to the library and give them to you when I arrive home tonight.”

“Really?” Bae asked, his face enlightening.

“Yeah, really. Now come on.”

Standing up on her feet, Lacey took Baden’s hand again, dragging him down the road, straight to the school.

* * *

 

Later that day, Lacey was standing by the circulation desk, looking through some registers they kept of the books in the library, when the small bell in the door jingled, causing her to look up quickly, as she always did, to share a smile with whoever walked there, but this time, her gaze got fixed in the person, a tall man she only remembered seeing once. He waked towards her with a black file on his hands.

“Excuse me, you’re Miss French, right?”

“That is me, how can I help you?”

“My name is Maxwell Dove, I’m one Mr. Gold’s security guards. He asked me to bring you this,” he explained, placing the file on the desk between them. “It’s your contract.”

Lacey took the file in hands, her heart racing and seeming to get heavier on her chest. Their deal wasn’t something concrete until now, when the proof of it was right in front of her, making a whole wave of guilty make her bit her lip so hard it hurt. She was on the library, her mother’s favourite place in the world, about to do something the long-passed Colette French would have never forgiven her for, if she was still alive, but that was something Lacey must do, despite of what her conscience insisted to say.

“Oh, thank you,” she managed to mumble. “Tell him I’ll read this contract and it shall be signed before tonight.”

“Alright,” Mr. Dove nodded. “Have a good day, Miss French.”

“You too.”

By the moment he closed the door behind him, Lacey opened the file with trembling fingers, pulling the contract out and taking a seat to start reading it. The first page was full of blank spaces, where her full name and personal data should be written, as he hadn’t asked her for any of it and had nothing to fill the gaps, so she moved to the second one, which described the deal they had made in its essence, before some clauses where added right below.

Accompanying the lines, with her clever blue eyes narrowing at each word, Lacey felt her hands turn into fists as an incredulous gasp left her mouth and she shook her head furiously, full of an anger that difficulted her breath. Lacey stood up, pulling the contract back inside the file before she announced out loud:

“Listen up, folks, the library is closing for today.”

There were some protests, but the library wasn’t that full and she managed to quickly mark the books some people were taking, before closing it and make her way to Gold’s office as if she was a summer storm. The anger was burning in her veins and she knew she need to calm down, otherwise she would end-up killing Adam with her bare hands, by the moment she saw him.

When the elevator’s doors opened in his floor of the building, she went straight to Ashley’s desk. “Where is him?”

“Miss French, I’m sorry to inform but, booking an appointment is something you need to learn how to do,” Ashley said with a sigh, rolling her eyes at the brunette.

“Listen up, I’m not his client, I am the mother of his unborn child, so you better tell him that I’m here and I’m angry.”

Standing up, the attendant opened the transparent glass door, which lead to his office, leaving an impatience Lacey, walking around the waiting room with the file in her hands, tapping her nails against it as if she could throw the thing on Gold’s head, and in that moment, it was exactly what she was thinking about doing. Ashley came back after some minutes with a defeated look on her face.

“He said you can come in,” she informed.

Some kind of evil smile passed through her lips, as she walked to Gold’s opened door. He was sat by his desk, finishing signing some papers when she threw the file on the table, startling him.

“What the fuck is that?” Lacey shout out.

“Our contract,” Adam grumbled, clearly confused.

“No, this is not _our contract._ I didn’t agree to all those ridiculous clauses,” she said harshly. “Why on earth am I supposed to stop wearing high heels? And I’m not to opine on how I will deliver this kid? Let me tell you something, Mr. Gold, no one, and I repeat, no one, decides my life but me. So, screw your freaking contract, I’m not going to sign this until you erase all the clauses that take off my free will.”

He sighed deeply, pulling the chair behind, so he could stand and walk to her, placing both his hands on her arms, but the brunette pulled away, extremely upset, not wanting to be touched by him.

“Lacey, those clauses are there for a reason: the sake of the baby. You will eventually give up the high heels yourself, because they will become uncomfortable, and about the delivering I just wrote we should chose the safest way to do it.”

“You won’t choose anything, _I will_ ,” she answered. “Our deal is for you to get the baby after it is born, _only that_. As long as it remains inside me, it is still my body and I will decide what is best. You want me to go to your expensive doctors? You want to keep me from drinking? That’s alright, but not the rest. Change it, Gold or I will disappear and you will never even get a sight of this child. I’m not feeling like selling my soul today or any other day.”

He nodded angrily. Adam knew there was nothing in this world that could be able to dissuade that woman, and he was pretty sure she would make her threat real and give their child to the adoption system without thinking twice if he didn’t do what she wanted.

“I will change it,” he promised.

Lacey waved her head positively, starting to walk backwards when she broke down into tears, painful sobs coming up through her throat as she covered her mouth, letting herself fall back in one of the armchairs on the corner of his office.

“What happened?” Gold questioned. “I thought it was what you wanted.”

“This is your fault,” she said between sobs. “I’m a mess of hormones and this is all your fault. I should never ever have slept with you in first place and I should have known better than to forget taking my pill so many times.”

“Sweetheart, calm down. This mess of hormones won’t last forever.”

“Yeah,” Lacey wiped some tears. “But as long as they do, it will keep destroying my heart.”

* * *

 

There was no point in opening the library again, once she had expelled everyone from there earlier, so after she got calmer, Lacey left Gold’s office and headed to Storybrooke’s Preschool, stopping in a grocery store to buy the candies she had promised to Baden. A bunch of parents were already waiting for the kids outside of the building and she easily located Mrs. Potts in the middle of the small crowd and walked to her.

“Hey Helga,” the girl greeted the nanny.

“Miss French, I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” Mrs. Potts replied. “Is everything alright with Mr. Gold?”

“Yeah, perfectly. I just got out of work earlier today and though I should come here to pick Bae with you.”

“And what about your morning sickness? Is it bothering you a lot?”

“It’s terrible.” Lacey's face contracted in a grimace. "I hate this."

Mrs. Potts took a long analysing look at her, however Lacey didn't bother, because the nanny was the only person who hadn't been judging her those last few days. She knew she could have caused a bad impression when Gold showed up with her, telling that she was pregnant and everything else, but it seemed that for Helga it had no meaning, so when she spoke again, Lacey couldn't find anything in herself to get annoyed at her.

"You know, you're very young for Mr. Gold."

"I'm also very lost," the brunette shrugged. "Anyway, he is not interested in me, we have a deal and I'm just living under the same roof he does, because he wants to make sure his child will be fine."

"I doubt that's his only reason," Mrs. Potts said in a humorous snort, right at the moment the school's doors were open. "Come on, it is time to pick up Baden."

She thought about it for a brief second, deciding it should be the best if she didn't get much involved in Baden's life that way, meeting his teacher and everything else, so she refused: "I think I'll wait here."

With a shrug, the nanny walked inside, disappearing behind the big double doors alongside with the other people who were entering the place. Lacey stood there, uncomfortable and feeling a little awkward for just staying there and waiting, but thankfully, she hadn't had to do that for much time, because just a couple of minutes later, Helga came back with Baden, who smiled widely when he saw her, rushing to throw his arms around her legs, just like he had done when he discovered that she was pregnant.

"Lacey!"

"How was your day, little Bae?" She asked with a smile, pulling out of her purse a plastic bag full of goodies and handing it to him, who quickly opened it and made a gleeful noise. "I've brought you the candies I promised and some chocolate too."

"I think you're my new favourite person," Baden giggled, "but don't tell this to papa."

"It will be our little secret," she promised.

Taking a small chocolate bar from inside the bag, Bae opened it as they started making their way home with Helga Potts right behind them, carrying the boy's backpack. Baden seemed distracted with eating, but after some steps, he looked up at the girl with his shiny brown eyes.

"Lacey, I asked my teacher where does babies come from," he confessed.

She coughed, suddenly choking with the air. "Oh, you did?"

"I told her I knew it wasn't the stork that brought them, but the mamas."

"And what did she say?" Lacey questioned with wide eyes, glancing at Mrs. Potts, who was trying very hard not to broke into laughs.

"She said papas got a magical seed they put inside the mamas to make the babies grown," Baden continued, innocently. "Then she asked why I was asking this and I said I was just curious. I didn't tell her about you, like I promised."

Lacey couldn't even begin to imagine how the poor teacher must have had blushed at his question, as she knew her own cheeks were burning with colour, however Bae hadn't showed any interest in getting an explanation on how did a baby ended up inside her, so she never thought he would come up with this question to his teacher.

"Well, thanks, but you shouldn't keep making those strange questions to your teacher," Lacey instructed. "Ask Mrs. Potts next time, huh?"

"Ok!" Bae agreed happily biting at his chocolate.

"Why me?" Helga inquired.

"Because I have no idea what to say to a kid in these matters," she concluded, following the joyful boy home.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lacey takes her first ultrassound.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a good fun writing Lacey, Gold and Whale talks along this fic, so I hope you guys enjoy these bits.

Some weeks had passed and Lacey had stablished a routine on Gold’s house. Milah came to pick Bae in the next weekends and Lacey remained out of view, although it wasn't much helpful, because Milah seemed to sense her presence and had shouted some bad things at Gold about her and how he'd better keep her very far away from Baden. She had asked him once, if he wanted her to go away, but Adam denied, saying Milah wasn't going to be the one to lead his life. Lacey found out that morning sickness got worse when she ate something acid or just meat during the night prior, which lead her to a horrible routine of eating salad without any condiments for dinner.

A small part of her, missed the nights out with her friends, drinking to forget a bad day or dancing to shake things off a little, but Ruby had come over sometimes to visit and even talked with Gold and Bae which made her feel a little better. Now, Lacey was standing in front of the full body length mirror, which was set on her en-suit bathroom, tracing the tiny bump on her belly with a finger. It was almost imperceptible, but any changes have been remarked by her ever since she found out about the pregnancy. She wanted to share it with Gold, show him the baby was growing healthy, but she didn't know how and that was why she was a little bit excited for the ultrasound she was going to take later, even though she was a little frightened too.

Straightening her clothes back in place, Lacey went out of the bathroom, grabbing her purse and going downstairs, to meet Gold and Bae by the breakfast table, as usual. It was a part of her routine she surprisingly learned to adore, because it reminded her of her childhood, when she had a loving family doing the same as her.

"Hi, Lacey!" Baden said, right before biting at his toast.

"Hi!" She smiled back, serving herself as she glanced at Gold, who was eating some kind of colourful cereal. "Excited?"

"For what?" Gold asked, confused, before blinking with comprehension. "Oh, the ultrasound? Yeah, of course, I am."

Baden’s face narrowed in a frown as he chewed, the corner of his mouth covered with strawberry jelly. He pulled the toast back on his plate, looking ponderously at his father.

“What is an ultra - ” he tried to say, but didn’t find the right word on his mind. “Ultra… This thing you said?”

“An ultrasound?” Gold repeated. “Oh, it’s an exam doctors do to get an image of the baby inside Lacey.”

His eyes got wide with excitement and he quickly managed to plead: “Can I go see it with you?”

“I’m sorry, my boy,” Gold denied, shaking his head as he passed the bowl of jelly to Lacey, “but you have to go to school, maybe next time.”

“I want to go with you,” Baden begged, blinking those puppy eyes in an attempt to dissuade his father.

However, in that matter, Lacey was sure Adam would be irreducible. He had showed himself really concerned with his son’s education, she watched him sit by his side in his study, helping the boy to do his simple home works which consisted in small reading, writing and counting lessons, so she was pretty sure skipping school to go to the doctor with them was out of consideration.

“There isn’t much yet to see, Bae, the baby is still too tiny,” she tried to help, “but I promise we will take you with us when we can get a better image.”

“Promise?” Baden asked, a little mistrustful.

“Promise,” she smiled.

Standing up, he threw his arms around her, stretching himself to press a kiss full of jelly on her cheek, making her giggle happily. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt so light, ever since the funeral.

“Thank you, Lacey!” The little boy said, before rushing upstairs, leaving a half-eaten toast on his plate.

Looking down at Adam’s cup of coffee, she felt a little sorry for herself and her terrible diet, but she would keep it, restraining her alimentation as long as her child’s survival depended on her having a healthy life. Lacey couldn’t say it wasn’t bothering her at all, though, because she was pretty frustrated lately.

“You’re good at it,” Gold suddenly said with a smirk. “He is always happy around you.”

“I always give him chocolate when you’re not seeing,” Lacey shrugged, passing her finger through the jelly on top of her toast and leading it to her mouth, sucking slowly as her mind worked and she fixed her glance in Adam. “Are you sure you don’t get to go to work today?”

“I wouldn’t miss this for anything,” he answered, touching her bare arm before standing up to take the dishes away.

His digitals seemed to mark her skin as if they were burning metal or something like that, she wanted him to press his full open hand on her, pulling her body against his, like he did when they met, but it wasn’t going to happen and she knew better than to keep daydreaming about those things, so she finished eating and helped him to clean the kitchen, before they went off.

They dropped Bae at school before driving to doctor Whale's clinic, which was near to Storybrooke's Hospital, but way more expensive. Lacey had heard he worked there as one of the obstetricians but, he was the most remarkable one and his consults were only payed by the richest people in town, and even though Lacey wasn't included in that list of people, Gold was, and as she was having his child, she was getting the best treatment anyone around there could have. Now they were sat side by side on the clinic waiting for their appointment, Lacey flipping the pages of a magazine, while Gold kept staring anxiously at his cell phone, opening the old thing at each five seconds, to look at the hour.

"You said that didn't need to go to work," Lacey muttered to him, passing her eyes through the information on the magazine pages.

"I don't," he confirmed. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm just a little nervous."

Closing the magazine, she placed it back on the side table where it was before, turning to face him with an inquisitive eyebrow arched. "Hey, I'm the one doing it for the first time here, not you."

"Yeah, you're right," he grinned. "Are you nervous?"

"Nah, I never get nervous."

A deep laugh came from his throat, his voices the only perceptible sounds on the clinic as all of the other patients remained in silence, their attentions lost in cell phone screens or magazine covers.

"Liar," Gold snorted.

"I'm not!" Lacey defended herself, coming closer to him, so she could whisper her next words right on his ear. "You have never seen me nervous Mr. Gold, not even when you started taking my clothes off and throwing them on the library's floor."

Adam swallowed hard, the remembrance too clear on his mind, he could feel his cheeks start to burn with colour as the perfect image of them undressing in the middle of the library, while desperately kissing and touching the other came to surface. The books were their witnesses that night and that place still seemed to keep hidden the secrets of the act that had taken both of them there today.

"You love making _me_ nervous, huh?"

"Pretty much," she confirmed with a wicked smile.

"Lacey French?" A nurse called, coming from the hallway and they quickly stood up, walking towards her. "Hello, my name is Aurora, I'll take you two to the exam room."

They accompanied Aurora through the white corridor and she lead them to an even whiter room were a hammock was set near the ultrasound machine. A big television screen was hanging in the wall in front of it, showing the same black pattern, the machine did.

"Here, lay down and pull your shirt up, the doctor will come in a minute," the nurse instructed Lacey, who did as she said, getting the towel paper to clean herself after the exam.

When Aurora left, Gold risked a look at the young brunette and gasp left his mouth, when he realised that her previously perfectly flat belly, was now slightly curved. He sucked a deep breath, his heart pounding furiously at the tangible proof this was really happening, Lacey was really pregnant with his child and it was a good delight for him to see that his seed was growing strong inside her womb.

"Oh, I haven't noticed you were already showing," Gold whispered, taking some steps in her direction.

A soft, small and brief smile took place on her lips, making her look a lot younger than she usually did, her auburn curls spread around her head, the brown skirt pulled down just enough to give a full view of her stomach and her yellow blouse tucked up. She was just a ray of sunshine laid there and God help him, because he wanted much more with her than she would ever be willing to give him.

"You can touch it if you want to," Lacey muttered, nibbling at her lip.

"Can I?"

"Of course," she assured, stretching her hand to grab his wrist and pull him closer, allowing Gold to run a gentle finger through the extension of her belly admirably, causing her a tiny shiver. But Lacey knew this small respectable contact was very far away from what both of the wanted, so she gripped at his hand, pressing it firmly against her bump. "This way."

Adam felt his heartbeat pulse madly again, however he couldn't say he wasn't marvelled with that moment, until it was ruined by doctor Whale's arrival on the room, making Gold pull away so fast he seemed to be a scared cat.

"Good morning, Miss French," the doctor greeted. "Mr. Gold. Let's take a look at this baby?"

"Sure," Lacey agreed with a smile and Gold could almost say she was excited.

Whale sat on the small rotatory stool and picked a bottle of gel, lifting it to Lacey's belly, with a warning: "It will be cold."

Spreading some of the gel on her using a probe, Whale pressed a button, making new black and white nonsense images come to the screens.

"Mm, not that much," Lacey contemplated, "I guess this thing about the gel being cold it's a myth."

The doctor laughed slightly. "So, how many weeks long do you think you are?"

"Exactly nine," the brunette informed in a proud voice, as if no one else in the world was capable of knowing the date of the conception of their child like she did.

"Exactly? You seem to be pretty sure."

"I am. I can even tell you the hour of the conception if you want to, there was a clock hanging in front of me while doing it, so - "

Gold's cheek flushed. "Lacey!"

"I'm sorry!" She guffawed. "I couldn't resist, but there really was a clock."

Oh, he remembered the clock. He wasn't sure if he had noticed it until they had finished their love making, but he remembered hearing the constant tick tock while he was trying to catch his breath, Lacey snugged against him on the huge armchair where they were sat.

"Well I'd love to hear the details between you two," Whale dared to say, still moving the probe through Lacey's belly, "but I think I've found your little one and you might want to take a look at it."

"Where?" Both Gold and her asked at the same time, their voices showing how eager they were.

"Right here, this tiny spot," the doctor pointed to them, in fact a small black spot against a greyish space on the screen. "That's your baby," Whale continued, before leaning forward to the machine again. "And now, the magic."

A rapid rhythmic sound filled the room and Gold suddenly found himself grabbing Lacey's hand. He didn't know if her fingers had come to him or if he had been the one to reach for them, but right now, it didn't matter at all, because they were holding each other's hand while hearing their child's strong heart resounding and that was enough.

"The heartbeat," Gold breathed.

"The heartbeat," doctor Whale agreed.

After taking some screenshots, the doctor printed two copies of it and handed them to Gold, saying he wanted to see Lacey again when she entered her second trimester. The girl cleaned the gel from herself, quickly straightening her clothes and following him outside the exam room. She was nervously playing with the chain hanging from her purse, looking down at her high heels as if she was interested in their shape against the floor.

Gold touched her arm, as they went out of the clinic and offered her one of the sonogram’s copies. "For you."

"No, it's yours!" Lacey exclaimed shaking her head emphatically. "You payed for the consult and the baby will be yours!"

"I know," he said softly, putting the sonogram on her hands and closing her fingers around it, "but I think you should have it, alright?"

Lacey bit at her lip, something she always seemed to be doing, not matter what circumstances, but in that moment, she had nothing of the woman who entered his office storming up some weeks ago, she was just the girl he saw behind those painful blue eyes at the bar. He had done everything she had asked about the contract and they signed it last Monday, but as he had watched her doing so, he got the hesitation she showed before finally signing the papers.

"Thank you, Adam," Lacey barely whispered, analysing the image carefully, her thumb brushing at the black spot that was their child.

His great urge was to pull her into a tight hug, kiss those pinkish lips before she had the chance of painting them in any bright colour she would choose to wear today. He wished to touch her belly again and make all the promises she needed him to, but Lacey wasn't the kind of woman who would appreciate this openly, so he relished in watching her trace the sonogram picture, enchanted.

"I love this," Gold dared to say.

"What?" Lacey questioned.

"When you come out of your shell," he answered with a smirk, getting the car keys from his pocket, and opening the door for her. "That's the real you."

Lacey didn't say a thing, only rolled her eyes and slid to the passenger’s seat, but both of them knew he was right and for a brief moment, she had been herself again.

* * *

 

Jasmine was covering the day in the library for her. Lacey knew she didn’t need to take a full day off, but the girl had arrived town just a few months ago and when she left a resumé on her desk last week, she saw the perfect opportunity to train somebody to cover for her when she needed to take a break after labour. And truth be told, it was good to have someone to help when she needed to organize all those books, but was feeling extremely sick and tired all the time.

She called the library to make sure everything was under control and asked Adam to leave her near her father’s borough before he went to his office. The way to her old house was something heart-warming, as she thought about the good memories she had from that place, so beautiful, good and innocent she wished they were enough to eclipse the bad ones. Lacey got her keys, going straight to the front door and opening it.

“Papa? Hey, papa it’s me, are you around?”

There was a muffled noise coming from the corridor that lead to the bedrooms and a strained Moe French came around, rubbing at his eyes.

“Lacey, darling, I haven’t seen you last night. Did you sleep at Ruby’s house again?”

A strangled sound left her as she aimed the tequila bottle placed in the small centre table. _No_ , she hadn’t come home last night, nor any other night for the last three weeks and her father would have noticed it if he wasn’t so busy drinking until he got unconscious.

“I brought you some food,” she muttered, lifting the plastic bags full of groceries she had just got on a store.

“Thank you, Lacie,” his voice was languid and he smelled alcohol.

She thought that she could take it, that she could see him like this again and just walk away until she was forced to come back, but Lacey was feeling nauseous, her stomach flipping furiously with a sensation that was way too worse than all of her morning sickness. There were tears in her eyes and she thought she might be starting to have a claustrophobic attack, the walls of the house slowly suffocating her and making her pulse get quick.

“You need help,” she told her father. “You are an alcoholic, papa, and you need help, because ever since mother died, you stopped living.”

“I’m not that!” Moe shouted out. “I’m not.”

“Papa, please, listen to me,” Lacey begged. “I can help you, I know some powerful people in this town and we can get a way to help you.”

Moe grabbed the plastic bags from her hands, throwing them on the couch and pushing her away.

“I’m your father, Lacey, so you listen to me, I’m not an alcoholic and if you do not accept this you can go out of this house, you’re already old enough for that.”

Blinking in an attempt to see through blurry eyes, Lacey realised she was crying, almost curled with her arms around herself and a hand pressed firmly to her belly as if she could block their argument, so her child won’t hear it. She walked to the door, opening it and turning around to say her last words to Moe.

“You want me to go away? _Fine, I will_ , I don’t you need, but you need me, because it’s been three years since she died and I can’t remember the last time you worked for a full week,” she shouted between tears. “Screw all your bottles, sooner or later you’ll learn what really matters.”

Then, she slammed the door shut, walking home as fast as she could.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Milah doesn't come to pick Bae.  
> Lacey and Gold have a moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I haven't posted any other fic this week, I know I promised to finish some things, but I haven't really written much a thing, as I was feeling a bit pulled down. But I'll be away for the weekend and I hope to get everything done so I can start doing proper updates by Monday.  
> Meanwhile, I hope you get to enjoy this chapter. I shall have another edited soon.

Saturday mornings were unfortunately Milah's mornings with Bae, which always got Gold mad, everything he could think about was her taking his son to whatever place she was living now, with that stupid guy, Killian. The only reason he allowed the boy to keep going with this, was because he knew Baden still needed his mother and this was apparently the only way he would ever get to spend some time with Milah, however it didn't make things any easier to him.

It was Friday night, he had already put Bae to bed and was sat alone in his study, a glass of whiskey on his desk, as he analysed a document he had been working on the last whole month. Gold flipped a page, hearing the door being open and allowed himself to be distracted, just that once, seeing Lacey walk slowly towards him, hair pulled up on a messy bump, a big blue dress-shirt covering great part of her body, but showing her bare legs. She sat on the top of his desk, looking down at him with a dangerous smile, the same one she wore on the day they met.

"Is it something interesting?" Lacey asked pointing at the papers in front of him.

"No, just a difficult case I've been working at," he shrugged, leaning against the chair's back, the highest part his shirt unbuttoned and the sleeves tucked to his elbows, making Gold look relaxed, as much as he had been working the whole night. "I thought you'd been sleeping, you always disappear after dinner."

"I was feeling a little nauseous, couldn't sleep," she explained.

Her barefoot toyed with the edged of his seat, the red nail polish appearing to glow on the low lights of the study. Gold accompanied the silhouette of her legs with his eyes until he locked them with hers.

"Can I do something to help?" Adam asked in a whisper.

"I don't think so," she answered aiming the glass he hadn't finished yet, as she licked her lips. "I'm mentally drinking this whiskey."

"No drinks for you today, lady,” Gold said, pulling the glass away from her and bringing it to the edge of the table, near him. Lacey guffawed loudly. "What is so funny?"

"No one has ever called me _lady_ before, it's so antiquated!"

"I'm old," Gold shrugged.

"Not _that_ old," she replied, still laughing a bit, but them as she looked down at him, her eyes turned dangerously darker and when she spoke again, her voice was lustful. "I think I have a thing for older men that I only discovered when I met you," Lacey purred, coming closer to him, rubbing the back of his hand. "You arouse me, Adam."

"Lacey - " he breathed.

Gold had to use every strength he had, to not pull her closer and attack her lips with his. That could easily be a dream, but he knew he was pretty awake and any move they'd do, could ruin everything between them and it could cost him the child she was expecting.

"I wish I was lying to get you all uncomfortable again," Lacey muttered, bending, so she could slip her fingers inside his shirt, "but I'm not."

"We have a deal, dearie, so please go back to your room," he almost begged, taking her hand away from him and standing up.

He did it all so fast that he ended up hitting his knee against the desk and making the glass of whiskey fall on the floor, breaking into tiny pieces and spreading the drink all over the carpet.

"Fuck!" Adam cursed.

"What your language, Mr. Gold, there is child in this house," Lacey laughed, but he could sense the frustration in her voice as she walked towards the door. "Have a good night."

* * *

 

When Lacey woke up the next morning and the remembrances of the ridiculous showdown came up to her minds, she covered her face with the duvet, ashamed of herself. She had practically offered herself to Adam, saying all those dirty things like a drunk girl, but she wasn’t thinking clearly, because she was having a bad time dealing with her needs and after she read a particularly hot scene on a book last night, she saw herself so turned on, that Lacey wasn’t caring if she was being inconvenient, as long as she got Adam to touch her.

However, his rejection had the effect of a cold shower on her, smashing her heart and making her desire disappear. She needed to remember the reason why she was there, _the damn stupid contract_ , from which she was gaining nothing but a roof above her head. Gold was going to be the one who really won something, he would take the baby and live happily ever after, while she was destined to end up being a lonely alcoholic, just like her father.

Uncovering her face, she stretched her hand and picked the sonogram from her nightstand, taking a look at it while she palmed her twelve-weeks long belly, that made her pregnancy more and more undeniable at each passing day. Lacey bit at her nail, but not with strength enough to break it. She pulled sonogram back to its place and slipped off the bed, changing her pyjamas and thinking about a way of not having to spend the day alone in there with Adam Gold. Maybe she would call Ruby or maybe she would make Jasmine go to the library, even though it was closed, just to reorganize some things.

Lacey went downstairs, feeling the amazing smell of eggs and bacon being fried at the kitchen and walked in there to the sight of Gold in front of the stove, greying hair perfectly straightened, falling in front of his eyes as he glanced down at the food, completely concentrated.

"Hey," she said, taking a seat by the table.

"Hey,” he smiled back, carrying the frying pan to her and sliding the eggs to her plate, before adding bacon, “the breakfast is already served."

"You're really spoiling me," Lacey mumbled, mouth-watering at the sight of the food. "Listen, I'm sorry for last night, I was a little helpless, but I wasn't lying in anything I said."

He nodded, serving himself and joining her. "I think we should discuss this after Milah picks Bae."

"Yeah, you might be right," she agreed, taking the fork to start eating.

Her morning sickness was starting to get better and she even risked taking some meat during the night, what didn’t bother her twice from the three times she did, and now she was getting starving all the time. Lacey thought that if Adam had offered, she would have taken all the food he made and eaten it alone. She was finishing her meal, when Baden came running from the staircase, a backpack hanging from one of his shoulders. He stopped in front of the table, between her and his father.

"Can I eat some of those eggs?" He said, eyeing Gold’s still full plate. "I'm hungry!"

"I know, son, but your mama likes to have breakfast with you."

"I want to eat something right now," Baden whined.

She didn’t know what was the thing with him, but Lacey always felt the need of doing whatever Bae asked her, mainly when he started begging like he was doing now.

"There are some candies on the inner pocket of my purse," the brunette winked at him, pointing at the hall where she had left it, her sweet tooth making her keep a stock for herself.

Baden made a happy sound, rushing through the corridor without thinking twice and she smiled for herself because, at least, she knew that she was capable of making his day a little better.

"You can't keep spoiling him," Gold snorted.

"I told you I wasn't meant to be mother," Lacey shrugged and he suddenly turned his head to the other side, aiming the wall as he stood up. "What? Did I say the wrong thing?"

"No,” Adam shook his head, “but it is already 10 A.M., there is a reason why Bae is hungry. Milah usually pick him at nine."

"She is really late."

"I'm going to call her," he said, getting his phone and walking to the backyard as Lacey started to take the dishes to the sink.

She quickly washed everything they used and was starting to wipe it all, when he came back, his glance fixed in his ridiculously old flip-phone. Lacey placed the frying pan on its place at the cabinet and walked to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Any luck?"

"No, she is not answering."

Waving her head, without knowing exactly what to do, she asked: "Should we get worried?"

"Just about Bae," Adam muttered, breathing in.

"I will get a sandwich to him," Lacey suggested.

"Fine, I will call her again."

Getting some slices of bread, peanut butter and strawberry jelly, she prepared a snack for the boy and took it to the living room where he was sat, watching some silly thing on the TV. She sat by his side, handing him the plate she brought.

"Do you want a sandwich, buddy?"

Bae’s eyebrows narrowed in confusion. "I thought I was going to eat with my mama."

"Yeah, that was the plan," she continued as if it was no big deal, "but it seems your mama won't get here in time for breakfast, so what about you and I eat together and wait for her?"

"Ok," he said a little hesitantly, but picked one of the sandwiches she made for him anyway.

Joining him, as hungry as she had ever been in her life, the brunette got half of the other and started to eat, silently dividing glances between Baden and the television screen. He placed his backpack on the floor, took a stuffed bunny from inside it and held it tight, while eating. When he finished, Lacey took the plate back to the kitchen, where Gold was sat by the counter, starring ponderously at his phone, she slid to the seat beside him, placing a hand on his arm and gently stroking the exposed skin that the tucked sleeves of his shirt showed.

"The cell phone seems to be turned off," he explained in a distant voice, as distant as the one he had use to answer her when she greeted him at the bar.

_That was it,_ Lacey thought, Milah consciously or not, was apparently the one person capable of striking him down, if not by breaking his heart and playing the runaway bride, then by forgetting to pick her own son for the weekend.

"I hate that sick bitch now," Lacey complained, teeth clenched hard in some kind of hatred she hadn't felt in a long time, one she couldn't even get to feel when her drunk father expelled her from her own house. "How can she leave him waiting?"

"I don't know," Gold answered, not daring to look at her eyes when he was feeling so cold inside, "and I wish I could think the best of her, but I'm pretty sure no emergency happened to keep her from coming here to pick her son,"

"It's still Saturday morning, we can do something to cheer him up," Lacey proposed.

She barely realised her hand was still stroking his arm, however Gold didn't move from her touch either, actually he thought that be there speaking to Lacey and feeling her war skin brush against his, in an attempt to bring him some kind of comfort, was the only thing keeping him from calling Mrs. Potts to stay with Bae while he hunted Milah down through the whole Storybrooke.

"I'll cook some pasta for us later, he loves it," Adam got to show a small grin, "but now I need to tell him his mother is probably not going to pick him today."

Pulling away from her hand, he lifted his own, stroking her cheek with the back of it, and watching surprised for a moment as her eyes closed in delight. But he couldn't have the conversation he needed to with Lacey just now, because as much as he wanted to clean things between them, he needed to prioritize his son, so what he actually did, was to leave her in the kitchen and walk to the living room, where his boy was sat on floor, a piece of paper and some crayons in his hand as he drew.

"What a beautiful piece of art we have here," Gold said, sitting beside him.

Baden lifted the paper for him to see. "This is Lacey and I with the sandwiches today!"

It was one of his classic line and circle based draws, all colourful and childish, showing two people standing in the nowhere of the white paper, one dressed with a green shirt and black shorts and the other wearing a pink dress with a curve on her middle section that was certainly meant to be Lacey’s still quite small baby bump. Both of them were holding triangles that should be the sandwiches. Baden was a clever little guy and Adam was very proud of him, which made having to ruin his day by saying his mother wasn’t coming, even worst.

"It looks great, my boy," Gold complimented with a smile, before his face darkened in a sad expression. "Bae."

"What?"

"I think mama is not coming today," he said.

That didn’t seem to make any sense for him. Baden pulled the paper down back to the table, puzzled. "Why not?"

"I don't know, but it is already late and she is not answering her phone."

"Oh," he mumbled, sadly.

He wasn’t the kind of boy who would make a big scene out of it, crying and whining, but he would close himself, curling in a corner in playing with his toys the silently he could, almost as if he wanted to not be noticed. Gold knew the feeling very well, because he used to do the same. So, touching his son’s shoulder gently, he stood up.

"I'll make some pasta for you, alright?"

The only thing Baden did was to nod, as the father went back to the kitchen. Lacey, who was watching the whole scene from the doorstep, sighed deeply, mindlessly caressing her belly as she went straight to where Bae was, sitting on the couch and stretching herself to pick him from the floor and place him on her lap. He was a little heavier than she thought, but the boy needed some affection right now and she wasn’t going to deny it to him like his mother had done.

"So, what are we going to watch?" Lacey asked, the sweetest way she could, but he only shook his head, so she tried to cheer things a little. "Come on, it's movie day! Pick one!"

It took him a while to think, but finally Bae suggested hesitantly: " _Peter Pan_?"

"Okay," she agreed, picking the remote control to select the movie app on their TV put it on. "But only if we get to see _Moana_ later."

"Will you make popcorn?" Baden inquired, already more cheerful.

"I will."

They watched the whole Peter Pan movie, while Gold prepared their lunch, then they took a break to eat, before sitting in front of the TV again. Adam joined them while _King Lion_ was playing and Bae was happily eating popcorn, but then he retired himself to do some work on his study. It was around 7 P.M. when the last movie ended and Lacey was laid down on the couch with Baden snuggled against her, breathing heavy in his sleep. She turned the TV down and slipped off the couch as carefully as she could not to wake him, then grabbed a blanket and covered the boy, thinking about going upstairs and taking a bath, when she saw that Gold was near the fireplace, looking at her with a side-smile on his lips.

"I think something about watching _Dumbo_ for the tenth time got him tired," she explained, pointing at his sleeping son.

"Thank you, Lacey, for doing this."

"No big deal,” the girl shrugged, “I like him."

One of his hands came up to caress her messy curls, brushing against her neck, delicately as the other palmed her belly, cupping the curve where their child was nestled. Lacey found herself unable to move away from his touch, she wanted so many things in that moment that she couldn’t even begin list them, but she was also so afraid of changings. She didn’t want him to pull away, she would be heartbroken if he did, but when he bent his face and let his nose caress hers, her heart pounded so fast with fear of what it might mean, that suddenly, she didn’t know if she wanted him to take the next step.

“You’re wrong, you know?” Adam muttered. “You would be a great mother. And it may not feel like it right now, but you already are.”

Lacey couldn’t answer, and not just because she was speechless, but because he was getting closer and a thousand different things passed through her mind on that short seconds, so quickly and confusing she couldn’t even understand them herself. Everything she knew was there was a handsome smile on Adam’s lips, full of a joy she hadn’t seen in his face the whole day and they brushed so softy against hers, it couldn’t even be considered a kiss.

Now, she knew exactly what was going to happen, when he palmed the back of her neck more firmly and pulled her close, but a voice behind them made the couple pull away so fast, that she almost stumbled against the glassware behind her.

“Papa?” Baden called, rubbing at his eyes, sleepily.

“I’ll take a bath,” Lacey quickly informed, disappearing on the staircase.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gold goes to Seattle.  
> Lacey takes care of Bae.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was revised by the sweet beastlycheese.
> 
> So I had a really productive weekend and this week's update schedule is going to include all the chapters I should've posted in the last one.

The sound of a car stopping right in front of the library made Lacey sigh with relief. She switched off the lights before passing through the door and locking it, shooting an inquisitive glance at Gold as he got out of the car to meet her.

"I was almost going home all alone, what happened to you?" She asked a little frustrated at the huge amount of time she had spent waiting for him.

Lacey usually didn't wait for anyone but as Adam insisted on taking her home every day, she just did as he asked, and they got engaged into silly conversations on the way. It was far from what she could consider a perfect life, but it was something that sounded healthily normal, compared to the last three years of walking home alone to find a drunk father sleeping on the couch or babbling pure nonsense. Gold had a routine, one that was great for both him and his son and she liked it, so any slight departure from the expected got her angry and teary-eyed.

"Bad case," Adam explained opening the door for her but Lacey didn't enter the car, because she could see a question shining in his eyes and when he continued to speak, she knew that she was alright about it. "I need to ask you a favour. But you can say no."

"I don’t like the sound of that," Lacey complained.

"I have to go to Seattle to see a client tomorrow, but it will take me around five days. Can you take care of Baden for me?" He asked with a pleading voice, causing her to raise an eyebrow. "Mrs. Potts will still do her job and will also make the dinner, so you can work normally at the library, all you'll have to do is help him with the homework and make him breakfast."

If any other person asked her to watch kids for any short amount of time, she would have said no, but it was sweet, gentle Adam who was doing it and it was cute little Baden who she would have to watch, so she couldn't find any will in herself to deny the request.

"Alright."

"Alright?" Gold repeated, surprised.

"Yeah, sure," Lacey shrugged, "he is a good kid and you've been extremely nice to me, so why not?"

The smile that filled his face was breath-taking and made her heart race painfully. She felt like she was back in the living room Saturday night with their lips brushing so slightly that the contact might not even have happened for all she knew, the proximity between their bodies was too tempting for her.

"Well, in that case, I'm really grateful and I'll be owing you a big favour."

Lacey nodded, incapable of saying a thing and finally slid into the passenger seat.

* * *

 

The first two days after Adam left, were too easy to be true. Lacey had no problem helping Bae with his homework, reading a story for him before bed or answering any of the thousand questions asked every minute. She did have a problem with making breakfast though, and they ended up having cereal as their only option, because her cooking skills were basically non-existent.

She could survive by herself, of course, but all the food she managed to prepare looked awful and had poor taste, so Baden wasn't much into eating the burnt toast she tried to offer him on Tuesday, nor the weird shaped pancakes she tried on Wednesday. By Thursday, she had bought four different flavoured cereals to fill Gold's kitchen. It all was like a strange dream and she was the furthest away from being the girl at the bar with each passing day. Even though sometimes she still had to contain herself not to curse around Baden or act like the total bitch she used to be.

But things didn't change just like that and, sometimes she would still find herself staring at Gold's whiskey collection, mouth-watering for just a sip. Sometimes she would be writhing under the bedcovers, trying to hold in the moans that attempted escape her mouth, as she touched herself thinking about Adam and wishing that it was his body and his hands that were making her come undone.

Lacey bit at her lip at that thought, feeling her cheeks get flushed for continuing to think about that, even when she was at the library! Picking some of the returned books that were placed on the circulation desk she walked to where Jasmine was, and handed them to her, before coming back to where she was needed to register the book a girl was taking home. She had barely started to type in the information, when the phone by her side rang loudly and Lacey hurried to pick it up and not disturb the people that were reading and studying around there.

"Storybrooke library, can I help you?"

"Are you Miss Lacey French?" A woman asked from other end of the line.

"Yeah," she confirmed, "that is me."

"I'm Mary Margaret Nolan, Baden Gold's teacher, Mr. Gold said we should call this number if something happened and Baden isn't feeling well."

The information was quick and direct, but that didn't mean it felt that way to Lacey, she was paralyzed, feeling almost brain damaged by those words, uncappable of understanding completely what that meant.

"Oh," was the only thing she managed to mumble.

"Can you come pick him?" The teacher asked slowly, surprised by the lack of reaction.

That seemed to press a button inside Lacey's head and suddenly she was full of adrenaline, looking around the library in an attempt to locate her assistant.

"Yeah, sure," she guaranteed Mrs. Nolan. "I'm on my way."

She rang off the phone and asked the girl that was still waiting for her to register the book to wait some more as she quickly grabbed her purse and went to the shelves where the assistant was working.

"Jasmine?" She called. "You have a car, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I need it, now."

"But - " Jasmine protested, eyebrows narrowing with confusion.

Lacey knew that she was probably looking extremely crazy by now, but Gold had taken his car to the airport and she had never got enough money to buy one herself. Jasmine, otherwise was a wealthy girl with a beautiful silver car waiting to take her home outside.

"The keys," Lacey begged, stretching her hand so the other girl could place the keys she took from her pocket inside it. "You'll have to take care of the library all alone today. Bae is sick."

Jasmine's mouth fell open with concern for a minute, but then she nodded. Lacey didn't talk much about her personal life and when people dared to ask her how happy she was with her pregnancy or if she was expecting a boy or a girl, they would receive a harsh answer. However, she did talk about Baden and Adam, and anyone who heard her worrying about getting the right candies for him every day after work, would know she cared way too much about that boy.

"Alright, call me if you need anything else."

"Thanks, Jas, I'll return the car to you as soon as I can."

She went out of the library and drove as fast as she could to the school, trying desperately to call Adam and ask him what she should do now, but he didn't pick up. He was probably dealing with the client he had talked about, but that wasn't enough to keep her from cursing him under her breath as she rushed through the school's corridors until she found the secretary.

"Hi, I'm Lacey French, someone called me a while ago to pick up Baden Gold."

The woman nodded, standing up and gesticulating for Lacey to follow her. "Come with me."

Inside there was another hallway, but this one was filled with small wooden stools, one on which was Bae, curled in a ball, weeping. Rushing to his side, Lacey pulled him closer, letting Baden slip into her lap and hide his face the curve of her neck.

"Hey, buddy. What's wrong?"

"My belly, it hurts really bad," Bae answered in a voice that was full of pain.

"Do you feel the need to throw up or something like that?"

"No, there is just pain," the little boy babbled.

She cupped his face, trying to make him look into her eyes, but then she realised that his cheeks were flushed and heated, too unusually warm and her heart skipped a beat. Lacey never had someone to care for this way, so the excruciating feeling in her stomach was something new for her, something incredibly terrifying.

"Oh, babe, you're burning with fever!"

"I want to go home," Baden whispered, pleadingly.

"We need a doctor to check on you first."

He groaned in pain and without having any other option she leaned a hand against the wall to help herself to stand back on her feet, with Baden wrapped in one arm, his heavy weight painfully smashing her bump. She swallowed hard, ignoring her body’s pleading for her to stop and went out of the school, placing Bae on the backseat of Jasmine’s car, before setting herself behind the steering wheel to start driving. The hospital was at the other end of the town, and it took them around thirty minutes to reach it, the sound of Baden complaining making her heart race a bit more.

Lacey stopped in the first place she could find, picked up the boy, carrying him inside and babbling to him as she walked as fast as she could, typing her best friend’s number into her phone with despair.

"You'll be alright, Bae. You'll be ok," she mumbled, hearing the call go directly to the voicemail box. "Ruby, please when you hear this message, come to Storybrooke Hospital, I need you."

"Where is papa?" Baden asked when they walked inside the hospital.

"His cell phone is turned off,” she hurried to explain, “he must be in a meeting."

There weren’t many people in the emergency room and they were quickly attended to by doctor Felicity Mal, a sweet calm woman that took Baden away to examines, telling Lacey to take a breather and go to the waiting room. She almost found herself yelling something rude at her, because the last thing Lacey needed right now was to “take a breather” or be separated from Bae, but she knew that the woman was only being attentive, so she gave up, nodded and started trying to call someone that could stand by her in that moment, but again, nobody picked up the phone.

Taking a glass of water, she sat impatiently in the waiting room, her heart in her throat and her body sore from the effort of carrying Baden around. The brunette palmed both hands on her belly thinking about how her child had spent the day smashed under its half-brother’s weight and mentally saying sorry to it. She sighed, frustrated, because she shouldn’t give a damn to any of this, not that baby nor Adam’s four-year-old son, Baden.

And yet, she did. _Oh, God, she did_ and she cared a lot.

When doctor Mal came back with some papers in her hands and lips tightened in a thin line, Lacey felt as if at any second a hole would open beneath her feet and drag her down, but she stood up anyway and heard everything the doctor had to say.

"Surgery?” Lacey gasped. “But why?"

"He has an appendicitis, and needs an appendectomy to remove it quickly," the blonde woman explained, handing her the papers alongside with a pen. "And you need to sign here."

"But, I'm not related to him, I'm just - " _there_ was the cruelty of the situation, she had no idea of what exactly she was and in that second, Lacey felt that she was nothing at all. "I'm just the girl who is expecting his father's child."

Doctor Mal’s raised an eyebrow. "The parents aren't here?"

"No, I was supposed to be taking care of him," Lacey said, taking her phone from her purse. "Can you wait a minute? I'll call his mother."

Walking to a corner where she wasn’t going to be heard by the doctor, she made the call, using the number Gold had given her the night before he left for Seattle.

"Hello, this is Milah."

"Finally picked up the damn phone!" Lacey exclaimed, knowing that the bitch must have blocked all of Adam’s numbers and that was the reason she wasn’t picking up for him, whenever he tried to call her to talk about Baden.

A gasp came from the other end of the line. "Excuse me?"

"I'm at Storybrooke Hospital with your son, he needs an appendectomy and he needs you to be here."

"Lacey, right?” Milah guessed, and she could almost see the smile of disdain that would be on her lips. “Where is Gold?"

"Working in Seattle."

"Well, an appendectomy is not a big risk surgery, I'm sure Bae will be fine."

Of course, he would be fine, or God knows, Lacey’s life would be destroyed once more, but this time she was sure there would be no hope for her. However, the cold tone in Milah’s voice made a new wave of nausea take her, because she didn’t sound even a bit worried about her own son, while Lacey was there, almost breaking down in tears with despair.

"Wait, you're not coming?"

"I do work too, you know," the other woman answered.

That was ridiculous, that was selfish and heartless. If the bitch was in front of her, Lacey knew she wouldn’t been able to contain herself from attacking Milah with bare hands.

"In that case,” she started, angrily, “fuck you."

Ringing off the phone, Lacey walked back to where doctor Mal was still impatiently waiting for her to return and stretched a hand to her, ready to take control of the situation all by herself.

"Where are the papers?"

"I'm sorry, but you can't sign them if you're not related, we will just sign it as normal emergency proceedings until one of his parents appears," the doctor explained.

But that unfortunately didn’t make her feel any better, only worse.

"Can I talk to him?"

The blonde woman shook her head. "He is being prepared for surgery."

"Please," Lacey begged, "he is a child and he is alone here. His father would like me to do this."

It took the doctor some minutes to think and each of them sent Lacey to the edge of the kind of madness she never thought she could reach. Her hands were repeatedly stroking her belly, as if caring for the small life growing inside her, assuring it that all the affliction that was taking her, would hopefully pass soon.

"You have two minutes," doctor Mal warned.

Grateful, she rushed to the room where Baden was being prepared by a bunch of nurses, pale and dressed in one of those horrible hospital gowns. She reached for his hand, pressing a kiss against it.

"Lacey, I thought you had gone away," Bae muttered, eyes filled with tears.

"No, sweetie, I'm here and I'll be right here waiting the whole time, while the doctors fix you," she promised.

"Won't you be with me?"

The pleading in his eyes made her want to say yes, but she couldn’t make promises that she clearly wasn’t able to keep. So, she stroked his eyebrow, giving him the sweetest look she had managed to wear in a long, long time.

"I can't, but your pain will stop after they do their work," Lacey whispered in an attempt to calm him down. "You just have to be brave alright?"

"Right," the little boy agreed.

"Miss French?" Doctor Mal called, entering the room and pointing at the door to her. "Time to go."

Kissing his little hand again, she made him one last promise: "I'll be waiting for you, Bae."

* * *

 

Lacey had never been the person outside a surgery room, waiting with heart in hands. When her mother died, there wasn’t time to try to fix any damage because when the cops found her, she was already too far gone, so all they could do was cry and prepare for the funeral. She made all the calls she needed to, she internally cursed Milah, the world, destiny and everything she could blame for being in this situation and then, when she had no strength to continue her own crazy thoughts, she cried. And as her tears were suffocating her, she prayed.

There was a time, when she was a kid, that this wouldn’t be a surprising thing, because it was something her parents always taught her to do, but after Colette French was murdered, she lost all faith she had and started to use the bottom of a glass as the answer for her problems. However, in that hospital feeling hopeless, she felt she had no reason to not do this.

"Hey beauty, cocoa?" She heard Ruby’s voice saying by her side, a cup of the hot drinking being offered to her.

Lifting her head, Lacey accepted it taking a sip. "My saviour!"

"Were you crying?" Ruby questioned.

"Ridiculous, I know, must be the hormones," Lacey answered, wiping the remaining tears that were still blurring her eyes. "I just spoke to Adam. He is getting the first flight back."

When Adam had finally answered her calls, she felt as if a huge weight was being taken from her, the sound of his voice, lightening her heart as she quickly told him everything that had happened, hearing him thank her for staying with his boy and promising he would be there as soon as he could. Gold was a sweetheart, she decided, because even being all preoccupied with Baden, he tried to say all the things she needed to hear from him.

"Miss French?" Doctor Mal called from the hallway and Lacey stood up, walking towards her with Ruby right behind.

"Yes?"

"Baden Gold is out of the surgery,” she informed her, “everything went just fine and his recovery shall be great too."

The relief she felt couldn’t be put down in words, that Lacey was sure. There was nothing in this world that could compare to it. "Oh, thank you!"

"I can lead you to his room if you want to,” the doctor eyed Ruby and them glanced back at Lacey, adding: “but only you,"

"It's alright, go on your own, Lacey," Ruby assured. "I'll bring you some clothes you left at your father's later."

Returning the cocoa cup to her best friend, Lacey followed doctor Mal through the white corridors, until they stopped in front of a room and the doctor explained that Bae was still unconscious and being monitored by some machines, so she wouldn’t freak out when she saw him. Lacey thanked the woman and entered the room, pulling a chair chose to where Baden Gold was laid in a hospital bed. She snuggled close to him and closed her eyes.

"I'm here, buddy and I'm not leaving."


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam arrives home.  
> Adam and Lacey share a moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was revised by sweet beastlycheese.
> 
> And I must say, I really like this chapter.

All the whole damn slow way home Adam Gold couldn’t stop thinking that travelling like this and leaving his son behind had been a terrible mistake. He trusted Lacey, even though she was all crazily spontaneous sometimes, because he knew she was a responsible person when it came to the good of others. She didn’t give a damn about herself, that she had made clear enough times, but she cared too much about the people surrounding her. In her unlikely way, she cared about the child she was expecting, about her drunk negligent father and she cared about him and his son.

He would have never let Baden spend five whole days with Milah, but he had trusted Lacey and now he regretted it, because he had left her alone and scared to face a situation nobody expected to happen and that probably scared the hell out of her. Her voice on the phone was so shaken, so incredibly terrified, that a part of him was already anticipating bad news. When she talked about surgery he wished that somehow he could instantly be there, reassuring her that Bae would be alright.

Being locked inside the plane with no information about what was happening to his boy in Storybrooke was the kind of torture he never wanted to go through again. He finally parked his car in front of the hospital telling himself that in just a couple more minutes he would see his son and finally be able to breathe again. He asked a nurse for information and she led him to Bae’s room, saying he was stable.

Pushing the door open, he found his boy laid pale on the bed, dark circles around his eyes and tubes connected by needles in one of his arms. Right by his side, with her head resting on his shoulder, eyes closed in her sleep, was Lacey, the weird angle she was sleeping at, accentuating the curve of her baby bump. He walked towards them, pressed a kiss to Baden’s forehead and gently tapped a finger on the top of the girl’s nose.

“Lacey?” He called, gently. “Sweetheart, wake up, you’ll have a horrible ache in your back if you keep sleeping like this.”

Her eyelids trembled before opening, her gorgeous blue irises fixing on him as a lazy smile stretched across her lips. Gold watched attentively the way one of her hands came up to stroke her belly as the other played with his son’s hair.

“You’re here,” she whispered, happily.

“I just arrived,” Adam said with a grin, before pointing at the boy. “How is he?”

She straightened her position on the chair, stretching herself and letting a pleased moan escape her mouth when she felt some tension leaving her tired muscles.

“Doctor Mal said that he is doing fine, she was here some hours ago to check on him.”

Adam blinked, noticing the huge opened bag on the nightstand by her side. “You stayed here the whole night?”

“I haven’t left, I couldn’t, he needed someone by his side,” Lacey answered nibbling at her lip as she stood up. “Ruby brought me clothes and food.”

“Oh, Lacey - ” he muttered.

Taking a step in his direction, Lacey passed her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest. It was so good to hug him, to feel the welcoming warmth of his embrace that she didn’t want it to end.

“I was scared, Adam. I have never been so scared in my whole life.”

“I’m so sorry for not being here for you,” he replied, pulling a strand of her hair behind her ear as she looked up to meet his deep brown eyes. “I never thought something like this could happen while I was away, he was so healthy…”

“It’s not your fault,” Lacey immediately reassured him. “I’m just glad he is fine, I don’t know what I would do if something happened to him.”

Gold didn’t think about what he was doing, all he knew was that she was exactly the kind of woman he would want to spend his whole life with. She cared for his son. Lacey cared. Milah didn’t. Baden wasn’t even related to her and Lacey cared for him with all her heart, the woman talking to him in that hospital room, was the one he saw under the bitterness in that bar, exactly as she saw the good man behind the great loser he was. So, Adam bent down to capture her lips on his, the perfect shape of her body moulded against his, their baby resting safety between them as they lost themselves in the kiss.

Lacey let it be slow, her heart beating as fast and as lightly as butterfly wings on her chest; there was no urgency, their lips working against the others very differently from the way they did on that first night together. Adam pulled away too soon, kissing her forehead reverently while she caught her breath.

“Thank you,” he murmured, without knowing exactly what he was thanking her for, if it was for taking care of Baden, for being what he needed or for allowing him to kiss her. But the words served its purpose in any of these cases.

“You’re welcome,” the brunette returned, laughing slightly before she decided to add: “I’ve been longing for this moment.”

Meeting her lips again was something out of choice for him and this time, he pressed his tongue against them and she parted her mouth, allowing it to enter to massage her own. Lacey threw her arms around his neck, wanting to get closer to relieve the aching desire that had been growing inside her during the time they had spent together, and if they weren’t in a hospital, there wouldn’t be a thing capable of making her pull away again. Then Baden’s voice came from behind them, she shot quickly back to reality, shifting back to the chair where she had spent the night.

“Papa, you arrived,” the boy giggled, weakly.

“Oh, my boy!” Adam exclaimed, going right to his side. “You scared me to death!”

"I missed you."

"I missed you too, Bae," Gold whispered, running his nose through the boy’s cheek, that made Lacey smile from where she was, still blushing with shame for caught being making out with him in front of Bae’s hospital bed. "I love you, son. And I'm sorry that it took me a while to come here, planes suck."

"Did you win that case?" Baden asked, simply.

The expression in Adam’s face was totally puzzled, because he didn’t know why his son would be asking for such a thing in a moment like this, but anyway, he nodded, showing a small grin. "Aye, I did."

"So, I'm happy," the boy concluded.

Lacey blinked at those words, incredulously, but when she did so, she felt a tear dropping from one of her eyes and sliding down her cheek. The girl quickly wiped it away, before any of them could notice, surprised for crying again and blaming those damn hormones for making her overreact all the time. She stood up, decided to not sink into deep feelings right now when all she needed was to free herself from the emotions that week had brought, so she could decide how exactly kissing Adam was going to change things in their life.

"I'll get you some coffee,” Lacey started, touching Gold’s shoulder, “and give you two a little time together."

"No, stay with us, Lacey!" Baden begged, his little hand, that looked so tiny and fragile with the tubes wrapped in his arm, curling around her wrist. "Please."

"But - " she started.

But Gold didn’t let her finish, a side convincing smile appearing on his lips, as he also asked: "Please?"

She had no escape, not because she couldn’t just deny them, but because she didn’t want to. Lacey French had suddenly discovered how important those two people were to her and as much as she didn’t want to get too involved with them, she needed to admit that she already was. So, when she sat at the edge of Baden’s bed, she was pretty aware that saying goodbye was most certainly going to kill her.

"Guess I'm staying."

* * *

 

Three days in a hospital had made Baden completely bored and he was whining the whole time. Lacey had to eventually go back to her work at the library and return Jasmine’s car after having it parked outside the hospital for great long time. After Adam arrived she went home, took a long bath and did everything she needed to do, knowing that if she skipped work again for a child that wasn’t even hers, she might well be fired. But Lacey couldn’t just let it go too, so when she went to work the next day, she wasn’t at peace until the moment Adam called her to say that Bae was going home that night.

The bubbly feeling of pure happiness inside her, was something she thought that she hadn’t felt ever since she was a child waiting for Christmas morning. Lacey circulated around the library in a wonderful mood, finding herself foolishly talking with the tiny baby inside her womb, before she realised that it was probably too stupid and stopped.

Now, however, she was in Gold’s house, more specifically in Baden’s bedroom, helping him settle down. Lacey placed a second pillow behind his head, smiling gently at him. "Is that good for you?"

"Yeah," the boy answered, before directing his glance to his father, putting on his pleading puppy eyes. "Do I really have to sleep just now? I want to play."

"No playing for now, son. You're still recovering and today you shall rest. Tomorrow maybe we can start slowly with the playing part."

Baden snorted, tired of not doing anything at all, then asked: "Bedtime story?"

"Sure," Adam grinned, going to the small blue bookshelf in the corner of the room and picking an orange book. "What about this one?"

"Cool," Bae approved, taking it from his hands and looking down at the girl, who was quietly watching them. "Can Lacey read?"

"Mm, sure," Gold immediately replied, before realising that she should be the one answering and turned to her. "Can you?"

"Of course, I can."

Years of work at the public library had brought many experiences of reading for children, but she had never really done it for someone she really liked, even though she had been helping Bae with his homework while Gold was away. She took the book and started reading anyway, her voice stable and calm as she toyed with it, making different tones for different characters, until Baden’s eyes had closed, his breath had gone heavy and Adam was turning down the lights.

"Good night," she muttered, pressing a kiss to the top of the little boy’s head.

Standing up, Lacey returned the book to its place, then left Gold alone in the room, straitening the bedcovers around his son and looking down at him for quiet moment, while she changed her clothes for a pair of pyjamas, grabbing a blanket and going back to Baden’s room.

Adam watched her with a frown on his face as she curled herself on the old armchair that was settled near the window. He rose on his feet, walking towards her with a question on the tip of his tongue.

"What are you doing?"

"I'll sleep here tonight,” Lacey explained, “just to be sure that he will be alright."

His mouth fell open, because she was willing to stay there the whole night, sleeping in an uncomfortable chair, just to look out for Baden, when Milah complained every single time she had to wake up to feed him when he was an infant and refused to go check on him, when he got a little older. Restraining himself from pulling her up in an embrace, he shook his head and decided to not let her spend the night there.

"You can't sleep in the armchair, you're pregnant!"

"Watch me," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Lacey, please,” Adam almost begged, kneeling by her side, brushing his fingers against her hair. “I'm really thankful for everything you're doing for Bae, but you need to take care of our baby too."

"The baby is just fine,” she assured him, grabbing his hand, and placing the open palm on her belly. “It's moving."

"What?" He questioned, unable to feel anything.

The low laugh that came from her throat was something so precious that should have been recovered, so he could hear it over and over again.

"You can't feel it yet,” Lacey explained. “I've read in a book that only the mother can feel it during the first trimester, but it's true, very slightly and softly, but I can feel this small pressure inside my womb."

"This is amazing," Adam said in wonder, smiling.

"It's surreal," she agreed, pulling her blanket closer as he dropped his hand to the side. "Now me and the baby are going to sleep."

Nodding, knowing now there was nothing he could say that was able to dissuade her, he stood up and went to pick another arm chair and place it by her side, earning a questioning glance from her before he explained: "I'll stay here with you too."

* * *

 

The next weekend came with no news from Milah, she didn’t appear to want to see Baden, nor did she call to ask how his surgery had gone. Lacey thought that if she wanted to win the award of worse mother in the world, she was very close to achieving it. On Sunday night, after Baden had eaten as much ice-cream as he could, he went to bed, drowning in a deep sleep, which made Lacey giggle a little before leaving his room and going downstairs, craving some of the strawberries she had begged Gold to buy that morning.

She got some and was making her way back to the staircase when she noticed the lights turned on in his study and went there instead, a hand placed against her stomach through the black silk of her nightgown. He was sat near the fireplace, throwing some pieces of paper into the flames.

"What are you doing?" Lacey questioned, stopping right behind him.

"Going through some old pictures,” he said, showing her the half-empty album on his hands. “I burned all of Milah's."

"Oh, the bitch really deserves to burn," she agreed, biting at her strawberry as she slid into his lap.

Gold raised an eyebrow to her but didn’t ask her to stop being silly and go away, just placed his hand on her hips to stabilise her there as he sighed, still too lost in his previous thoughts to give much attention to the fact that the woman he was craving, for so long, was that close to him.

"Can you believe she didn't come to see her son? That she didn't even call?"

Lacey made a sound of disdain, getting some time to think, before she could speak.

"What did drag you to her?" The brunette asked. "She is such a horrible person."

"I don't actually know,” Gold confessed. “I think I was just lonely when I met her and at that time, I was so convinced that I was just as horrible as her that, I didn't even stop to think what were the chances that this relationship might suck."

Lifting her last strawberry, Lacey pressed it between Adam's lips, letting him bite a piece of it, before she ate the rest. This proximity was good, the fact that she could just lean against him, pressing their foreheads together, was one of the greatest things she found herself able to do. The guys she previously dated were nothing like him and now she understood why: they were a bunch of carefree idiots and Gold was a true man. Lacey traced his jawline with the tip of her index finger, her curiosity winning over her.

"Why did you think that you were horrible?"

"You don't want to know about the cases I won as a lawyer," he simply answered, so bitterly that she thought he would stop the conversation right there and excuse himself back to his bedroom, but instead, he took a deep breath and kept talking. "I'm good at what I do, Lacey, I mostly never lose. I've taken children from their mother's arms to give them to fathers that didn't deserve them, I defended murderers, freed robbers. I'm bad and a lot of people hate me."

She couldn't help but swallow hard. Lacey wasn't a fool, she knew very well that law sometimes wasn't fair, and that lawyers sometimes didn't do the fair thing, but the one that will make them win, that will bring food to their tables and she might get angry at it sometimes, but not at Adam. He was looking down at the floor, so ashamed of himself it made a sadness settle in her heart as she cupped his face and forced him to look back at her.

"I don't hate you and I don't think that you are bad, you just do your job."

"Thank you, sweetheart."

His hand caressed her ribs, sending a wave of heat and desire through her body. She had been aching for him lately, finding herself unable to restrain her thoughts from fantasying about his touch or the way he had called out her name at the edge of his passion that night in the library. Lacey couldn't keep daydreaming like this while sat in his lap, or she knew she might do something she would regret, so shaking her head to herself, she shared something dark about her past too.

"My mother was murdered."

"What?"

"I was supposed to be at the library working with her, but I went to Ruby's house and called her to pick me up later," she started to tell. "The car broke down and she had to walk, but there was a fight at the bar near there, The Ogre's, there was a shot fired while she was passing in front of it and just like that her life ended."

"Lacey..." He muttered, closing his free arm around her waist and bringing her close, his face nuzzling on her neck.

"It's silly, how someone that wasn't even involved died because of some drunk idiots. And it was my fault," she mumbled, worrying at her lip. "I blame myself every day."

It was the first time she had ever talked to someone other than Ruby about that night and her eyes were closed tightly, her blood seemed to be turning into ice in her veins. Adam placed the photo album on her lap as he cupped her head, nestling it gently, his thumb stroking her hair.

"Look at me, Lacey," he asked, and she obeyed, her blue irises looking deep into his, "it was not your fault!"

She sighed, not believing his words, but also not daring to say anything when he was being so sweet with her. Instead, she picked up the album, analysing the three women with a little boy in the picture where it was open.

"Who are these?"

"My aunties and I," Adam told her. "I was raised by them in Scotland."

"What about your parents?" She questioned.

The women were considerably old, the youngest one seeming to be around her thirties and the eldest around her fifties, not exactly able to take care of a child that looked around six or seven-year-old.

"Never wanted me," Gold shrugged like it meant nothing, but Lacey could see in the deep of his eyes that it still affected him.

If she thought that her backstory was bad, now she was sure that for the most part of her life it was a perfect dream. She had had a happy childhood, a tender home, things had only fallen apart some years ago. Lacey toyed with Adam's hair, kissing his temples.

"You have a fucked-up family, Mr. Gold."

"One more reason why I should do better for my children, huh?"

His hand came up to cover her belly, his expression changing to a tender one as she placed the album on the small table near them. Gold rubbed circles against the black silk, causing a smile to form on her lips.

"You already love it, don't you?"

"With all my heart," he breathed.

When Adam looked up again, she locked her arms around his neck bringing his face close until their lips met. Lacey moved until she was sat with one leg on each side of him, giving in to the burning need that had been killing her for weeks. His lips moved to her throat, making her moan as she grabbed his hands and brought them to her breasts, letting him cup them through her nightgown, his fingers playing with her nipples until they tightened into hard peaks.

"Adam!" She gasped, her thighs rubbing at his trousers, feeling as he hardened. "I want you."

"Are you..."

"Sure?" Lacey completed. "I wouldn't be here doing this, if I wasn't."

He ran his hands over her body as if he had found Wonderland, stopping at her backside to give a small grip to get a groan from her.

"Not here then," he concluded. "We did it in a chair the first time, now you deserve a bed."

Lacey guffawed. "So, I didn't deserve it that night?"

"Of course, you did, but we hadn't got one near, and we were too eager and unable to think straight."

A smirk played on her lips as she remembered their urge for touches, the way they almost ripped the clothes off one another, half-drunk, alone in that huge library, their cries of pleasure echoing in the hallway. It had been the most incredible night of her life and she was excited to repeat it.

"Now you're thinking straight?" She inquired.

"Yes," Adam assured. "And now you're the mother of my unborn child. We should take half of the care."

"You're making it sound boring," Lacey said, rolling her eyes and rising to her feet, stretching out a hand to help him do the same. "But lucky for you that I'm aching to be touched."

"Lucky me, huh?" Gold smirked.

With hands tucked in the other's, they made their way to the staircase as she whispered: "I've heard the second time is better than the first."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would someone like a smutty chapter next? ;)
> 
> Hey guys, I've done a poll with the options of stories I should start writing after I finish The Parent Trap and Bittersweet, so if you want to vote, take a look at the plots on my tumblr and then follow with the second link.  
> http://imgilmoregirl.tumblr.com/post/170609959382/what-do-you-want-to-read  
> https://www.poll-maker.com/poll1877605xeD384449-53  
> As always thank you all for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lacey and Gold spend the night together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was revised by the sweet beastlycheese.
> 
> And here we have the hot chapter I promised. Maybe now they can work things out?

Adam locked the door of his bedroom, while Lacey sat on the bed. He needed to admit that he was nervous, he had of course known her for a night, but now things were different and as much as he was excited, he couldn’t help fearing for the still unknown consequences that the morning would bring, once their desire was sated. He slowly walked towards her, watching the teasing seductive smile on her lips grown wider with the proximity. The black nightgown she was wearing was thin and short, exposing a lot of skin and revealing the hard peaks of her nipples pressing against the fabric, as Lacey wasn’t wearing a bra.

She was breath-taking and he was pretty sure that he looked like a hypnotized idiot when he bent to ran the back of his hand along her leg. He gently started to pull the nightgown up, pressing a wet kiss to her knee, concentrating on her lusty expression as he kissed up her thigh and her hands curled in his hair. Lacey moved her hips up to help him continue to move up the gown and moaned when his teeth brushed her skin before he bit it.

“Adam!” She cried out and his face was so close to the place where she most wanted him, that Gold could already smell her arousal.

He moved up, so he could capture her lips in a passionate kiss, before pulling the nightgown completely off her. His heart attempted to stop at the first glance he got of her totally naked in front of him, except for her black lace panties, after weeks waiting for it. Lacey’s body was changed from the last time he had seen it, her breasts a little rounder and her middle-section now making a beautiful small curve, with his child growing inside there.

Adam was admiring her, she knew it, but Lacey couldn’t wait anymore, biting down her on lip, she came closer to him, starting to open the buttons of his shirt and kissing down his smooth chest, but she only managed to take this piece from him, before Gold pushed her back to lay on the bed. He kissed her eagerly, open mouthed, his tongue almost fighting with hers as his hands travelled down her body, one trapped in her messy hair, while the other caressed her breast, before those smart fingers found their way between her legs.

She sucked in a breath when his knuckles stroked her through the fabric, her own hands gripping his body as she parted her legs for him and he pulled the fabric aside to sink into her already wet folds, spreading her fluids to start rubbing her clit, that made a cry leave her mouth, her nails scratching his bare back.

“Quiet,” Gold demanded, his voice husky with lust. “We can’t wake Baden.”

“Sorry,” Lacey whispered, “just don’t stop. Please, don’t stop.”

He slowly began to rub her again, making small circles around the tiny bud that left a track of fire behind, burning her skin in such a powerful way that she had to bite on his shoulder to keep herself from screaming. She was too sensitive and everything seemed twice as pleasurable than it ever was, her legs trembling with the need of release, her toes curling and her breath coming in pants. Gold watched her fight to keep herself silent, her eyes wide and wild. She was so beautiful writhing beneath him that he could have come undone at the sight. He rubbed himself against the mattress to alleviate some of the need in his aching cock, but it only made him eager to be inside her. So, he decided to end Lacey’s sweet torture and pushed two fingers into her entrance to accompany the movements of his teasing thumb on her clit. A desperate suffocated sound left her throat, her inner walls clenching his fingers as he moved them to seek her pleasure and then, she threw her head back against the pillow, moaning when she came.

Recovering from her blissful state, Lacey caressed Adam’s back until her eyes came to the bruise her teeth had left on his shoulder and she slowly traced it, knowing that a purple mark would appear there in the next day.

“Lacey…” he murmured, kissing her sweaty forehead.

“Somehow you always know exactly what I need, huh?” She whispered in a too dreamy tone, that she didn’t exactly expected to hear herself using. “I want you now, Adam.”

Grabbing her hand, he brought it to his mouth, pressing butterfly kisses to her knuckles. She had never been treated like that by a man before, they always wanted to rush things, seeking their own delight, but Gold, he seemed to think she was some kind of ethereal goddess that needed to be properly adored.

“Would I sound stupid if I said that I’m afraid of hurting you?” Adam finally gathered the courage to ask.

A laugh escaped her, because Lacey could barely believe what he just said. She was not an innocent virgin and the swollenness of her belly was the very tangible proof of that. “Incredibly stupid.”

“I’m thinking about our child,” he said covering her stomach so affectionally that the desire in his eyes could very well be a product of her imagination.

_And since when was that kid theirs?_ They had a damn contract signed and he couldn’t just keep acting like it simply didn’t exist, because every time he did, Gold broke her heart a little. Shaking her head, she sat on the bed, flipping her hair to one of her shoulders and regaining her control before she could let her hormones get her all emotional again.

“Right, lay on your back,” Lacey commanded.

Adam obeyed and she sucked her lower lip inside her mouth, freeing herself from her soaked panties before moving to pass a finger along the bulge in his trousers, tracing it and cupping the hardness with a squeeze, causing him to groan, before she unbuttoned and unzipped his trousers, pulling the clothing down his body and throwing it on to the floor. He had taken off his shoes and socks when they entered the room, so the only thing left between them, was his boxers, which she quickly got rid of, before she sat on his lap, his throbbing cock, hard in front of her.

“What are you doing?” He asked as she closed a hand around it, pumping gently, making his eyes close and lips part.

“Solving our problem,” Lacey shrugged, “you won’t possibly hurt the baby this way, but I want to play with you a little before we do it.”

“No, sweetheart,” Adam begged, taking her hand away from him, “not today.”

Her other hand came to stroke his length instead, but gripping tighter and working faster, as he gasped with pleasure. Lacey loved to see it, how she able to make someone like him seem so vulnerable with only some movements of her hand. He was at her mercy and she could have played with him for the whole night, denying his release until he was begging for it, and she would have liked that game, but her own need made her decide that it might not be a good idea for this night specifically.

As much as her first orgasm had been incredible, she wanted more. Lacey wished him inside her, touching every inch of her, rubbing and bringing her to her peek again, his warm seed filling her.

“Why not?” She questioned, innocently, but not playing any games anymore.

Lifting herself onto her knees, Lacey brought his cock to stroke her soaked sensitive skin, coating him with her juices before she led the shaft to her entrance and sank Gold inside with a soft thrust.

"Oh, yeah!" Lacey whimpered.

Adam opened his eyes, glancing up at her, how beautiful she looked, eyes darkened, mouth open, letting out heavy breaths as she started to rock herself against him. He needed to use everything he had not to cum immediately at this sight, the heat in his groin was too tempting, asking for the release he so wanted, every new movement Lacey made, increased the burning sensation that made his tip drip inside her.

Sitting up, he made a muffled cry leave Lacey as the new angle made his skin brush against her clit and her walls closed once more around his cock.

"Fuck!" Adam cursed.

He locked lips with her, one of his hands reaching between them to rub at her little bundle of nerves, the other playing with her nipple. Lacey's back arched and she got his lip between her teeth, before releasing it so she could moan again. That motion wasn't enough, she started rocking harder and faster, Gold's thumb increasing the pressure until her body convulsed and she let go, with the loudest sound she produced that night. Lacey felt Gold's thighs get wet with her fluids as he rode the most powerful orgasm out of her, the brunette nuzzling her face on the crook of his neck as Adam continued to pump against her.

He was close, all rigid and tense and it only took him a few more thrusts to spill himself with a grunt of her name, falling on his back with Lacey laid on the top of his chest, her baby bump smashed between them for only a moment before she rolled to her side, facing the ceiling in the dark.

That was when the tears came to her eyes. Her heart was still beating fast, her breathing becoming difficult and the aching in her thighs, a reminder that things had definitely changed. _But how?_ Lacey asked herself. She had no idea, but Adam pulled her closer, running his fingers along the naked skin of her arm, pressing a kiss to the top of her head and nestling her welcomingly against his body. She wished he would just pass out like most guys did after sex, instead of being all romantic and perfect as only he could be, because she couldn't take any more of this. The brunette pulled away standing up with difficultly, her legs seeming to be made of jelly.

"Where are you going?" Adam asked her.

"Bathroom," she explained. "I'll come back in a minute."

She rushed inside the en suit, closing the door behind her as she fell on her knees and opened the toiled, throwing up her dinner. Her hands were shaking, silent tears falling from her eyes, but that had nothing to do with any pregnancy sickness, but a pure sensation of fear that was eating her alive. Lacey cleaned up her mess, however she didn’t find strength enough to go back to the bed and pretended she was fine, because if Gold said anything cheesy to her, she was scared of what her reaction might be. The girl couldn’t just go straight to her own room too, because that would ruin everything, so without any other option and knowing that she really needed that too, Lacey slipped inside the bathtub, turning on the shower.

Still crying she took a long hot shower, freeing herself from the smell of sweat mixed with their fluids, letting the heat of the water turn her skin a bright pinkish tone and help her breathing calm down before she went out. She dried herself before opening the door, thankfully finding Adam already asleep on the bed.

Biting down on her lip, she grabbed her nightgown and pulled it on, sneaking out of the bedroom to cross the hallway to her own. Lacey opened the first drawer of her dresser, in a search for her old turquoise pyjamas and a set of underwear, when her eyes glued on the black file that was hidden inside there. She pulled it out and sat by the desk, looking at it like the thing was about to start a fire.

That contract was very restricting, very clear and direct, guarantying that both parts would get exactly what they wanted and never ever need to be in contact again, but the person that signed it and the one that was helplessly facing its pages that night were almost different ones. At least in what they wished for. Her life in that house, with Adam and Baden was good, she liked them more each day and she also found herself about to admit that she didn’t want to give her child away too.

Taking another deep breath, Lacey returned the contract to its place, took off the gown and dressed herself in her comfortable pyjamas, knowing that there was no going back after selling a life like she did weeks ago, but she would allow herself to live this dream just for tonight. She went back to Adam’s room, closed the door and snuggled herself back against him, pulling a blanket over them, she closed her eyes and let unconsciousness take her.

* * *

 

The first thing she felt when she woke up, was someone sinking on the mattress right between Adam and her, making her body roll to the edge of the bed. Lacey held onto a curse and opened her eyes, struggling with the light to find Baden happily sitting there with a stuffed duck in his hands.

“Morning, Lacey!” He said cheerfully. “Why are you here?”

Gold rubbed at his eyes, his greying hair messy and his naked body only covered by the warm blanket. He looked around, expecting to see Lacey already awoken but when he found his son there too, he internally freaked out, sitting up on the bed, he pressed the blanket firmly around his waist trying to assure himself that it wasn’t going to accidentally fall down.

“What time is it?” Adam questioned.

Lacey looked at the digital clock on the nightstand, yawning. “Almost nine.”

“Why is Lacey here?” Baden repeated.

The girl shrugged standing up and helping the boy to do the same, because they couldn’t just stay there playing the perfect family, when none of them knew what they were. Gold snorted, pinching at the bridge of his nose.

“Bad dream,” he lied. “I was comforting her.”

Baden appeared to take the answer, but there was still curiosity in his eyes as he ponderously tapped a finger to Lacey’s belly. She raised an eyebrow to him, confused and intrigued by what might be passing through his smart mind at that moment.

“Lacey,” the boy started, “when you dream, does the baby dream too?”

“I don’t think so,” she laughed. “Now go watch some cartoon while your papa and I get ready for the day.”

He nodded and disappeared down the hallway. Sighing Adam threw the bedcovers away, pulling back on his boxers in case Baden decided to appear again before he could get a bath. Lacey stood near the door, uncertain if she should start that conversation or not, and deciding for ending the longing of what was going to keep silently killing her if she didn’t.

“Listen, Adam, about last night, I know we have a contract and I don’t want you to feel like I’m trying to fool you or anything like that. I’ll keep my word, despite of what happened or might yet happen.”

She only meant to reassure him, that she wasn’t going to run away like she did after their night in the library, but in Gold’s head it sounded completely differently. For him, she was saying that having sex with him didn’t change anything between them and that hurt his feelings.

“Sure,” he said harshly. “You needed to be sated just as I did. I know the meaning of the expression friends with benefits.”

“Friends with benefits?” Lacey repeated, swallowing at it. “So, what happens between us in the bedroom, is forgotten when we get out of it?”

She would never in a million years think he was the kind of man that would suggest something like that and her heart was beating so fast, that she thought she might throw up again. The girl leaned against the wall, watching how Adam’s eyes refuse to meet hers, staring sadly at the floor.

“Aye,” Gold nodded. “I’ll take a bath and then go make breakfast.”

“Wait. Can I - ” she found herself petulantly saying, even though her heart was in pieces. “Can I come here again tonight?”

Lacey couldn’t believe she was asking this after he basically rejected her, but after everything that happened between them, she should already have expected it. However, now all she needed was someone that could keep helping her find release from her still increasing desires and if he could at least continue to do so, then she would try not to get more emotionally involved than she already was.

“If you wish so,” Adam said, before entering the bathroom.

She stood there a moment more, trying to decide if that was something she could take for the next couple of months, or if she should run away from there in shame for everything she said and did since the night prior, to never come back, but Lacey knew she couldn’t just disappear this way, and mainly, because she had nowhere to go. Her father probably wouldn’t invite her back to their old house, even more when he realised that she was pregnant, Ruby could take her in, but not for too long as she lived in a small house with her grandmother and yet, Lacey still had signed that freaking contract and still owed Adam Gold a baby. She might not know everything about him, however she was pretty sure that if she went away he would move the world until he found her to take what she promised.

Her hands stopped above her bump, aware that the life inside there didn’t belong to her anymore and it was only a matter of time before they were torn apart, just like what had happened between her and Adam that morning. Going back to her room, Lacey thought that if she could, she would drink a whole bottle of tequila to forget about all of this crap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One step forward. Two steps back.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lacey is threatened by Leroy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was revised by the sweet beastlycheese.
> 
> I must say we have some changings in this half of the story and you'll notice that some danger is coming over Gold and Lacey from this chapter and on.

By Monday, things had gotten incredibly awkward between Gold and Lacey. Both resented each other about the way their stupid arrangement had been settled and had established a weird and silent routine in which, they barely spoke during the day and devoted their nights to satisfying the other, before Lacey shamelessly dressed herself again and sneaked back to her bedroom. It was so wrong that it got her feeling worse than she ever had, even more than on the nights that she had got really drunk and passed out on the floor of Ruby’s house.

It was the end of the afternoon, the library was almost empty and Lacey was sat by the circulation desk with Jasmine by her side, both of them bored, as all the work had been done earlier and the only thing they had to do was to watch the time pass as they whispered a conversation.

“So, did Baden recover well?” Jasmine asked, doodling something in her mint-green notebook.

“Yeah, he was a little whiny on our last visit to the doctor, but she said that he could go back to school today, just he should avoid running and carrying heavy things around.”

Lifting her dark glance to her, Jasmine smiled widely. She loved children and unlike Lacey was always excited when kids came for the reading hour on Fridays, but if both of them agreed on something it was that Baden Gold was the cutest little boy in whole world.

“I’m happy to hear that.”

Lacey nodded, almost absently before placing a hand on her arm. “I don’t think I’ve ever properly thanked you for letting me use your car that day, but I’m really grateful.”

“I’m just glad that I could help somehow,” Jasmine said, still moving her pencil towards the paper. “So, what about you and Gold? Are you two together now?”

Exhaling a sigh, Lacey leaned back on the chair. Her high heels had been discarded a while ago, kicked under the desk so her swollen feet could get some rest, even though she hated the fact Gold was right about that matter and she was definitely giving up her heels soon. But she had been very angry with him for lots of stupid reasons lately, because she was extremely unhappy with their arrangement.

Of course, Lacey enjoyed sharing his bed and being satisfied in all ways she needed, but when the pleasure was gone all that she had left was his guilty expression and her broken heart. When had she become the kind of person that wished for real love she didn’t know, but she kept trying to convince herself that a good fuck was everything she needed to take from this. In other times, it would clearly be what she was there for, but now she knew that some awkward feelings were popping in between and making it impossible for her to delude herself.

“Very far from that,” Lacey answered with a sad shrug. “He proposed we’d be friends with benefits while I’m living with him.”

Jasmine blinked. “Really? He doesn’t seem to be that kind of man.”

“I thought it too, but if he wants to use me for a couple of months, then he’d better make it worth it,” she answered with a wicked grin. “I like being worshipped after all.”

Oh, God, who was she trying to trick? She was falling for Adam and every time his perfect calloused hands touched her body and made her come undone, she wanted to drown herself into him, but as arrogant a bitch as she was, Lacey wasn’t going to admit it. She was actually trying to find a solution that would mend her life after the damage that being parted from Gold would cause, but she didn’t like her options at all.

“Don’t you want a real relationship, Lacey?” Jasmine questioned.

Worrying at her lip, Lacey looked up to the ceiling. “I used to think that this wasn’t for me.”

“And it changed?”

Placing a hand to her belly, Lacey traced the blue fabric of her sleeveless blouse that showed part of her back, including her black bra that was very different from Jasmine’s modest clothes, clearly not something a mother-to-be should wear, but she didn’t give a damn for what people might thing of her. What she was thinking right now was what mattered, because the slightest possibility of leaving town to try a new start with that baby was something she was considering.

Lacey still thought that she wasn’t going to make a good mom, but each passing day she felt more connected with that small being inside, mainly after it started moving and its existence started to be something she couldn’t ignore anymore. Yes, she wanted the best for it and she knew that Gold was the one that could provide it and not her, but she couldn’t help the feeling of despair when she imagined the day the child would be born and taken from her.

“Do you know how to break a contract, Jasmine?”

“No,” the other woman said with a shake of her head.

“So, please,” she started harshly, “shut the hell up.”

Jasmine was about to retaliate against those words when the library’s bell jingled, alerting them that somebody had arrived, but none of the girls moved to see who it was until a short, bearded man with a scowl approached the desk.

“Excuse me, Lacey French?”

“Yes,” the blue-eyed woman confirmed, standing up. “And you are?”

“Leroy,” he answered, grumpily. “Bunny sent me here to tell you that your father owes him a great amount of money.”

Her father having debts didn’t sound like news for Lacey, but the fact that someone was willing to come to the library to bother her because off it certainly was, not that Lacey was betting he would take a great amount of time without her financial support, but yet she couldn’t anticipate it. Moe had once been the owner of successful flower shop, but he had lost it due to his horrific drinking habit and his lack of will to work, now he only got earnt cash when he got to sell some flowers he still cultivated in their backyard. But that wasn’t enough to survive on, even more if you were an alcoholic, uncappable of ridding yourself off your addictions.

“Bunny?” Lacey repeated, sceptically. “I’m sorry, is that even a real name?”

“No, obviously.”

“But, Bunny from where?” She questioned. “And how much does my father owe him?”

Leroy folded his arms. Despite his small stature, he should look threatening in everybody’s eyes with that frown marking his face and with that harsh way of speaking, but Lacey wasn’t one to fear every sullen guy that thought himself invincible.

“Bunny from The Rabbit Hole, the bar.”

“Of course, a fairy-tale named bar. I hate this town,” the brunette complained, moodily, before demanding: “How much?”

“Five hundred,” Leroy shrugged.

“He drank five hundred dollars?” Lacey gasped. Behind her, Jasmine made a choking sound at the information.

“So it seems.”

Five hundred dollars, she didn’t even know if she had that amount of money in the bank and if she did and used it to pay for her father’s debt at the bar, then Lacey would have nothing for the rest of the month.

“God, I hate my life,” she whispered.

“Listen up, sister, I hate to see a woman with such horrible problems, much more one in your condition, but Bunny is warning you, before things get darker,” Leroy warned, eyes fixed on her swollen middle-section. “Watch out, for your own child’s sake.”

Narrowing her eyes, Lacey took a dangerous step closer, challenging him with her glance, as she lifted her chin and covered her stomach with both hands in a protective gesture. “Is that a threat?”

“I’m not the one making it, lass, I’m actually hating to be here, but just like your father, I also owe Bunny something,” Leroy said with brief nod.  “Goodbye.”

He turned around and left the library. Jasmine stood up, placing a hand to Lacey’s shoulder.

“What are you going to do?”

“They want money?” she murmured harshly, grabbing her purse and pulling back her high heels. “They will get it, but I’ll show them that nobody threatens Lacey French first.”

* * *

 

No one threatened Lacey French, without receiving a rude answer back, _no one_.

She didn't have a car and The Rabbit Hole was very far away from the library, which resulted in her feeling extremely tired, when she finally reached it. Her whole body was sore, her feet aching, smashed inside her heeled shoes and she had to take a time outside the bar to calm down her breath and recompose herself before she entered. That was when a sensation of déjà vu hit her, because Lacey had been in that place before, although she was too disoriented that night to notice the name of the bar, but she definitely recognised the place now.

It was here that she met Adam Gold. Her heart raced, her courage of doing what she came there for, weakening. Lacey had to take another deep breath, looking carefully around before going to the counter and waving a hand to call the attention of the chubby barman that was cleaning some glasses behind it.

"What can I get for you, girl?"

"I'm looking for Bunny," Lacey informed.

The man grinned stupidly. "I'm Bunny."

"Lacey French," she presented herself in an impassive tone, not daring to get too close to the counter, a hand firmly wrapped around her purse’s handle. "You sent an arrogant dwarf to threaten me and my unborn child, if I didn't pay for my father's debt."

The understanding of who she was shined in his eyes and, taking a better look at the woman in front of him, Bunny only appeared to get more pleased with the situation, but he tried to keep serene and only shrugged mindlessly.

"Some people need to run the business."

Rolling her eyes, Lacey opened her purse and took an envelope from inside there, which contained the money she had quickly got out of the bank before going there. She threw it on the counter between them with a dangerous look in her blue eyes.

"Five hundred, as you asked," Lacey bounced as Bunny opened it to verify that she was telling the truth. "Now sell another drink to my father and that will be your problem, because I won't give another cent for you to keep this shitty place open."

"You were here the other night, so I bet that it was not so shitty then," Bunny mumbled and dared to add: "I've heard it was Mr. Gold that knocked you up. Was that planned?"

"Excuse me?"

"He is the richest man in town, it couldn't have happened by accident," the barman accused. "You'll get a lot of easy money by having his kid."

She had to bite down her tongue not to let a whole number of curses to leave her mouth, not because she wasn’t the kind of person that would let an offense pass by, and Bunny might not look dangerous at all, but she was pretty sure that if he ruled that Leroy guy, he probably had a lot more bad guys watching his back. And for the sake of the baby she owed Gold, she better not anger him too much.

"Bunny, you should go down the damned hole and mind your own business."

Turning around, Lacey aimed at the door, walking straight to it, eager to leave that place to never come back, that was when she felt that somebody was following her, causing her heart to skip a beat.

"Look, who do we have here," a soft accented voice said from behind her. "Hello, love."

She looked over her shoulder to find Milah’s lover standing there all dressed in black like a ridiculously drunk phantom of the night. "This must be a joke."

"I thought pregnant women should not drink," Killian Jones mumbled with the most awkward kind of smile on his face.

He was smelling of tequila and cheap beer, his fingers curled around a glass of what she thought to be whiskey, those blue eyes surrounded by some amount of make-up that a man should never be allowed to wear. The guy was almost stumbling over his own feet and dared to judge her for coming here.

"I thought mothers should care for their children, especially after surgery," Lacey retorted. "Tell Milah she is doing a great job."

Killian took a shaken step in her direction and grabbed her arm with strength, dragging Lacey as close as he could without her trying to free herself.

"Why don't you entertain me a little, love? My car is outside and I have some cash for you."

Before she could think twice about what she was doing, Lacey slapped his face and kicked his knees making him pull away immediately. "I'm not a whore, you son of a bitch!"

She ran outside and hid herself in an alley, looking for her cell phone as some tears fell down from her eyes. Lacey hated this, she hated guys like Killian and it was probably because of them that she found herself unable to believe that true love could exist. It got her afraid of giving herself to someone that was only meaning to use her, so she always preferred to believe that everybody was.

The brunette typed the known number quickly and lifted the phone to her ear, waiting impatiently until he finally picked up.

"Adam?"

"Lacey?” He returned, startled by her broken voice. “You're crying?"

"Can you get me?” She pleaded. “I'm outside The Rabbit Hole."

Gold didn’t ask her why or made any other questions, he only told her to wait and that he would soon be there and rang off the phone. Lacey tried to compose herself, never leaving the alley, until she saw the Cadillac park in front of the bar and moved to walk towards it, opening the passenger’s door and setting herself inside. Adam looked at her from the corner of his eyes, waiting for her to give him any explanation, but when she didn’t he turned to face her, laying a hand on her bare knee.

"What were you doing in there?"

"My father owed five hundred to the owner," she mumbled, defeated.

"Oh, sweetheart,” he waved his head. “Why didn't you call me? I could have come here and payed for it, so you wouldn't have to."

Lacey didn’t answer, she only let some tears drop from her eyes and crossed her hands above her bump, gathering courage to look at him and ask: "Do you think I signed that contract because of money?"

"No! Why?" He questioned with a puzzled face. "Our contract says nothing about money."

She breathed in, mindlessly petting her belly, but Lacey might not be noticing what she was doing, however Adam was and he let a smile play on his lips as he watched that tiny gesture.

"Once I give birth, I'm homeless,” Lacey explained. “Father evicted me from our house."

"Lacey..."

Shaking her head, she made his words die before he could pronounce them, her face was so sad and she looked so lost that all the progress of the last couple of months seemed to have gone to waste, because Lacey was drowning in bitterness again.

"Everybody thinks I'm a selfish bitch who is interested in your money," she admitted.

"But you're not,” he guaranteed, rubbing her skin, “and I know it, alright?"

"Whatever."

Lacey knew that she had been rude, but she couldn't help herself, that was her all the way, always saying the wrong thing, always being cruel with the people that didn't deserve it. However, he merely ignored her, starting to drive the way back home, without saying another thing, but as usual, their proximity in the car, made Lacey's mind feel connected to him again and the need to speak took over her.

"Adam," she started, asking for the permission to get into a conversation after being so rude.

"Aye?"

"I - " Lacey swallowed. "I saw Milah's lover at The Rabbit Hole, Killian. Completely drunk, saying nonsense things."

Gold caught a breath, gripping at the steering wheel more firmly. "Was she there too?"

"No."

Hugging her purse, Lacey looked at the town standing in front of them as the car advanced. Adam thought that she looked so young that it was wrong for him to keep having her every single night in his bed. He was still a little mad to know that she didn't want things to change between them even after they started to be lovers, but he cared for her and if it wasn't for the fact that he knew that he would be rejected, he would have assured her that she would never be homeless and that he would always provide for her.

He was crazy in love with this woman. But Adam was also madly angry with his ex-fiancée and the things she had been doing lately and these thoughts filled his mind, causing his jaw to tighten.

"I worry about Baden," Gold confessed, "he is always asking for her."

"Milah..." Lacey muttered, almost with hatred. "It is a pity that she doesn't give him the attention he deserves. You have an amazing kid."

He nodded in agreement, knowing that he was indefinitely blessed for having such a good boy as Bae, always charismatic and lovely with everybody, accepting so well to have Lacey living with them and giving him a sibling. Adam loved his son to the moon and back, just like he would love the child that was yet to come.

"I don't know what she has in her mind, but I wanted her to at least care for him as much as she should," Gold sighed. "I wanted him to have the happy childhood I never had."

"He has you," the brunette pointed out, "and maybe that's enough, because your love for that boy is immense. You're the best father I know."

He glanced briefly at her with a smile playing on his lips and he couldn't manage to say how much he felt grateful for what she had just said. "Thank you, Lacey, I think I needed to hear that."

Gold received an equally sweet grin from her and feeling a lot better than they did for days, the two of them, headed home.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baden has a gift for Lacey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was revised by the lovely beastlycheese.
> 
> I need to say this is my favourite chapter because of Bae, he is a sweetheart here and I hope you like it as well. Things are starting to get better between these two idiots.

Milah had called. That was the only thing passing through Gold's mind during the whole day. She hadn't said a word for weeks, she hadn't appeared or even texted him to know how Baden was after the surgery, but she had called his office that morning remembering that on that Sunday the Mother’s Day holiday was celebrated and she wanted to spend the weekend with Bae. He had almost said no and suggested she go to hell, but then he remembered his boy's sad face as he asked for his mother and decided to give Milah a chance.

Gold couldn't manage to concentrate on his work after that, so he closed the office early and texted Mrs. Potts saying that she could take the day off, because he was going to pick Bae up from school and take him and Lacey to get some ice-cream. His feelings for the gorgeous librarian were another thing he was trying to deal with right now, because every time she sneaked into his room at night they had the most blissful, overwhelming sex and, he felt the need to ask her to please burn that sick contract of theirs and just be happy by his side. However, Gold knew that this wasn't what she wanted and preferred to leave things as they were.

He waited impatiently inside his car until the moment the school opened its gates for the parents to pick up the children and he made his way to Baden's class, meeting Mrs. Nolan by the door. She was a small woman with a pixie haircut that sounded incredibly sweet when she was being professional, but that never even glanced at him when she was outside the school. But he knew that he had not the best reputation around here and didn't blame her.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Nolan," he greeted her.

"Mr. Gold, good to see you, it seems you guessed that we needed to talk and appeared here instead of sending the nanny or one of your girlfriends."

She said it all with a smile and a soft tone, but the words sounded too harshly and judgmental for his ears. Mrs. Nolan was clearly unhappy with his recently life choices.

"And what do we need to talk about?"

The teacher stopped their conversation to call for August, a redhaired little boy, and let his father Marco take him home, then she gesticulated for them to move aside and leave the door free for the children to get out.

"Well, as next Sunday is Mother’s Day, I was helping the kids to make some cards for their moms and Baden asked me if he could make two," she told him. "It got me surprised because I know that some adopted children that have lesbian moms want to make two cards, but Baden clearly is not one of them. I gave him paper to make another card and asked him who he intended to gift with the second one and he didn't tell me."

Gold's brow narrowed in confusion, but he nodded. "I'll talk to him, thank you, Mrs. Nolan."

Smiling, the teacher called for Baden and went back to her place by the door when Adam had his son's hand tucked in his. Baden was purely happy to see his father there, as the occasions he appeared at the school were rare and they went straight to the car with the promise of popsicles. Gold then drove to an ice-cream shop, opting to have the chance of talking alone with his son before they picked up Lacey, and buy her something to eat at home.

Baden chose a chocolate, while Gold picked a strawberry flavoured one and they sat by a table to eat.

"So, how was school, Bae?"

"Good," the boy answered, evasively.

"Your teacher said that you made two Mother’s Day cards and refused to tell her why."

Handing his popsicle to the father, Baden, cleaned his hands and opened his backpack, looking between his things until he found the red folded paper, and placed it on the table.

"It is for Lacey," he explained, "it says 'thank you for being my second mama', and I drew the three of us in my room when she read for me after I got home from the hospital."

His jaw almost dropped at Baden's words, because he never expected his boy to get involved with Lacey, but the friendship between them and the care one showed of the other was something that couldn't be denied. Lacey may not want Gold nor feel prepared to be the mother of the child she was expecting, but she was a good company for his son, always making him laugh and spoiling him whenever she could.

"Oh, Bae..."

"And she is the baby's mama too. She deserves a card," Baden continued, placing the thing back in to its place and getting his ice-cream back. "Do you think that she will like it?"

"I think that she will love it, son," he guaranteed.

"Papa, can we buy chocolate ice-cream for her?" Baden asked, getting his face covered with drops of popsicle. "Lacey likes the same flavours I do."

"Of course, my boy," Gold answered with a grin, "of course."

* * *

 

Ruby had spent most of the morning in the library, as she had got the evening shift at the diner this weekend. Lacey had the opportunity to talk to her, even though not as openly as she wished, because the library was full and they needed to whisper. Not to say that Jasmine was around all the time and as much as Lacey considered her a good person, she would never say the same things to her that she did to her best friend. So, after Ruby went away, Lacey wasted a great amount of time thinking about the things she hadn't had the opportunity to say to her and should be texted later.

By the time she closed the library, Lacey was feeling that she needed to be cheered up, that made the sight of Baden Gold waving at her from the backseat of his father's car even more delightful. She waved back at him, opening the passenger’s door to slip into her seat by Adam's side.

"You picked him up from school?" She asked.

"Aye," Gold answered, "I cancelled some client's appointments."

"We bought you chocolate ice-cream!" Baden squealed.

Her mouth watered just to think about the cold dessert. Lately Lacey had been craving any food she could get her hands on, her morning sickness was gone for good and a hunger she had never known before settled in her body, making her eat twice as much as she usually did.

With a smirk, Gold glanced at Lacey, before turning on the car. "You'll have to put it in the refrigerator before you even think about eating it, because by now it must be melted chocolate."

"Well, thank you anyway."

During the drive from the library to Gold's salmon house, Baden sang some childish songs, swinging his feet in the air. Adam told them that Milah was going to spend the weekend with the boy, much to Bae's delight and Lacey's anger. She thought that Milah didn't deserve to ever get to see Baden again, but he wasn't her son and she had nothing to do with it, so Lacey sank more into her seat, glaring furiously the road until the car stopped and she quickly got out of it.

Damned Milah. Damned her sick lover and everything related to them. She was so angry with the fact this woman was popping back again, that Lacey almost thought she was feeling jealous, but jealous about what? Once again, the fact that she was nothing to Adam and Baden hit her like a thousand rocks, causing her to get teary-eyed as she waited for Gold to open the door. The next moment she was inside, taking off her coat as soon as she could, hurrying to reach for the staircase.

"Lacey!" Baden called, making her stop where she was. "I have something for you."

Thinking that he was talking about the ice-cream, she turned around ready to say that she would eat it later, but the boy came walking happily towards her with a card in his hands and offered it to her. Lacey grabbed it, astonished, kneeling in front of the boy and tracing the heart drawn on the front of it. She slowly unfolded it, her mouth forming a circle as it fell open, the words written in there warming her heart in a totally new way. The last time Lacey felt loved like this, was on the last summer’s day that she had shared with her mother, both of them had sat in their house's yard drinking iced tea and discussing a book.

Her glance flew up to Adam standing behind his son and he shook his head to assure her that he had nothing to do with this. She didn't even know that Bae could already write like this, but he was almost five and despite some errors in the phrasing, he had managed to write it in a perfectly understandable way. _“Thank you for being my second mama”_. Lacey pulled him into a tight hug, hiding her face in his dark brown hair for a long time, unable to speak, fighting against the mixed feelings inside of her. Oh, she cared about this boy as if he was her own, but he couldn't keep doing this, because she was Lacey French, she cursed like a sailor, she drank like a fish, slept with people she met in bars and flirted with the most stupid men on Earth. Lacey didn't deserve any of this.

"Thanks Bae," she finally muttered, "you're precious to me, buddy. But I don't think you should think of me as your second mama, I'm no one."

"You are," Baden guaranteed, leaning back from her so he could look at her face. "You stayed with me at the hospital, you're my friend and you'll give me a brother or sister. You can be my mama too, when my other mama is not around."

Feeling some tears run down her cheeks, she kissed his forehead. A part of her wanted to say that he shouldn't get attached to her, because in some months she would go away, disappear to never come back, but she couldn't do that to him, not with Baden smiling so sweetly at her, Lacey couldn't crush his heart nor reject his affection.

"Well, I thank you again."

Baden hugged her once more, before going to the living room. Lacey pressed the card to her heart and saw a hand stretched out in front of her. She took it as a help to rise from the floor, her eyes meeting Adam's and sending new waves of pure despair through her body. Damned that stupid contract and their stubbornness.

"Lacey," he started.

Withdrawing her hand from his she took a blind step behind, finding herself unable to get into any kind of conversation with him now. Tonight, she would lock the door of her bedroom, resisting the temptation of seeking him in the darkest hours, because now she knew that she definitely needed to step back from everything that she had done over the last few months or her heart wouldn't be the only one getting broken here.

* * *

 

Lacey started to look for apartments outside of Storybrooke the next day after she saw Milah picking Bae through the open window of her bedroom. The biggest problem with most properties she saw on at the internet was the price of the rent, much more than what she could ever pay with her current salary as a librarian, but that was another problem she would have to solve if she was really to move away from Storybrooke. She needed a new job.

All of this was stressful and certainly exhausting, so by the end of the afternoon, she decided to get a break from her searches and took a shower, trying to get relaxed enough to go downstairs to watch some TV, because she hadn't yet spoke to Adam. Lacey had been avoiding him the whole day, having breakfast after he was already in his study and not daring to come for lunch while he was in the dining room. The thing was that she didn't want to talk and knew that he certainly wished so, however she couldn't keep hiding in her room forever, she was already bored and needed something to distract her mind. Going straight to the living room, Lacey turned on the TV and snuggled herself on the couch, quietly watching the news, or at least trying to do this, as her eyes kept moving to the study's closed door.

Fixing her gaze back on the screen, she convinced herself that the best she could do was to forget about Adam's presence in the house, however after watching two episodes of a show, Lacey started staring at Gold's whiskey collection, with the insistent desire of standing up to pour herself a drink. She knew that she had acquired quite an addiction for drinking over the last three years and as much as she could control her issues unlike her father, she still gave in to weakness sometimes. The only problem now was that she couldn't be weak anymore, because if she glanced down she would see her eighteen-weeks pregnant belly and be reminded that there was a certain someone that depended completely on her keeping a healthy body to be healthy as well.

Frustrated, she slipped off the couch, moving to the door that led to the study and standing over there for over a second, before she opened it without thinking twice, or asking for permission to enter. Adam was sat behind his desk as always, flipping some pages of a huge document in his best home work look, suit jacket and tie discarded aside, some buttons open on his shirt and sleeves tucked up to his elbows, comfortable but not totally relaxed.

The sight of him so concentrated on his work that way, somehow aroused her, as crazy as it sounded, but her pregnancy hormones were making her crazy with desire. Lacey sucked her lower-lip inside her mouth as she stepped in, taking some of his files away from the desk and placing them on the chair where his jacket was, calling his attention to her for the first time. Adam blinked, as if awakening from a dream, he closed the document he had been reading to stare exclusively at her.

She could have asked him for a quickie, enough to satisfy her before she went to bed, but Lacey truly couldn't keep doing this when her heart was in his hands and she had been looking for apartments to rent in cities very far away from here. No, she needed to get things clear with him, and she needed to do this now.

"I'm done," Lacey said, trying to ignore the aching between her thighs.

"Done?"

"Yes, Mr. Gold, I'm utterly and completely done with this whole situation," she continued harshly. "I know that you think that I'm an easy girl and you can continue to have me whenever you want, because being 'friend with benefits' is cool, but I'm telling you, it is not!"

He had no idea what she was talking about, because even though he knew that something had been troubling her, she appeared to be pretty pleased with their arrangement, at least while they were enjoying each other's bodies in the dark, then she always left too soon for him to talk.

"Lacey - "

She shook her head, making his words die, before he could complete the sentence.

"When I agreed to sign that freaking contract with all those demands of yours including living here until this kid is born, I never meant to give you anything else, but the baby."

"I know," he nodded, confused.

"Now you see, we have a problem," Lacey pointed out, "because we've been fucking each other, and your son thinks I can be his second mother, which is just not going to happen."

Now things started to make sense for him, it was all about Baden's Mother's Day card. He should have never allowed him to give such a thing to her, he should have had cut this out, before they could get into a bigger mess, but of course, as a big bastard as he was, he hadn't. And now his son was going to suffer because he let him care for this woman and despite what he thought she didn't care about them.

"I'm sorry for that," Gold said, bitterly and angrily. "I thought you wouldn't mind him making that card, but I'll certainly talk to Bae when Milah brings him back."

"Damn it, Adam! I don't want you to talk to him, he is just a kid!" Lacey stormed, bending as much as she could with her swollen belly in the way, to stare at him with those sparkly blue eyes that for some reason were a little reddish, watering. "I want you to stop being a coward and be clean with me about what we are to each other, because I'm tired of feeling like nothing."

And there she was surprising him again. He could barely believe that from all the possibilities she was actually unhappy for not knowing what she was to him. Adam wanted to say that he wished her to be his in every way possible, but that would be cheesy and sound ridiculous to her and he also couldn't do it, because he was angry too, because she kept been evasive all the time, always hiding herself behind her walls.

"Lacey, you're not nothing," he assured, but added in a coldest tone: "You came to me offering the baby, you said that having sex with me wasn't going to change anything."

"Yeah, it wasn't," she answered harshly. "I would still give the child to you anyway, that's what I meant."

Closing his eyes, Adam waved his head positively. They were always misunderstanding each other, causing more heartbreak to both parties, exactly the thing they were trying to avoid the night they had met. He breathed in, moving his hand to find her bare leg, stroking it as he glanced back at her.

"You are someone I appreciate very much. I like everything about you and I like being with you," Gold said, sincerely. "I don't know what you want to be to me, Lacey, but I'm open to start anything you wish. The contract doesn't have to be between us."

"I want you," she confessed, "I want to be with you and not feel like an unwanted guest in your house. I want to know that I'm wanted and not just because I'm having your baby."

Foolish girl, he thought, moving his wheeled chair closer to her until he was sat in front of where she was, still on the desk, her bare feet laying in one of the chair's arms. He continued to caress her skin, rubbing her ankle without breaking their visual contact. She had that look he both hated and loved in her eyes, sceptical, daring, unsatisfied, carefully analysing where he was going to.

"You're wanted as well, my dear," Gold guaranteed, "and you can be totally sure that it is not just because you're carrying a child of mine, or the said child would never ever even have been made."

Both of them knew that they were starting to play a new game when Gold brought the chair even closer to be able to seal a kiss on her lips when she bent again. Lacey took her mouth away from his too soon, but with a new teasing shine in her eyes that told him that he'd better keep speaking and acting or she might get bored and disappear off to her room again.

Adam kissed her exposed thigh, just where it met her dress' hem, causing her to inhale slowly. "You're here because I feel the need to take care of you as much as I do the child."

"So, from now on..." Lacey incited.

"You are mine, for as long as you want to be."

He rasped his teeth against her velvet skin and Lacey licked her lips desirably.

"And the child?" She continued in a smooth voice. "Our contract is still in place?"

"Do you wish so?"

"Yes."

Adam didn't know what the point of all this conversation was if she didn't yet want to break that damn contract, but he knew that she just might not be ready to break it. One thing that he had learned about Lacey was that she was never clear about what she wanted and, most times, her actions didn't reflect her feelings.

"Then it will be," he whispered slipping a hand inside her skirt and stroking her through her panties, although he hadn't much space to move his fingers because of the way she was sat. "But know that I'm up to any changes you might want to make."

Hooking his fingers both sides of her underwear, Gold sucked at her thigh and she gasped.

"Adam..."

"Open your legs for me, sweetheart."

She did as he asked, lifting her hips a little to help him pull her panties down before - discarding them and starting to trail kisses up her legs, until her found her little mound and she hold onto a breath as he slowly licked her clit. Lacey moaned at the contact, wrapping her fingers in his hair, her eyes rolling back at the burning sensation his tongue left behind, wherever it touched her.

He had this quiet, strange way of sensing her needs that was certainly a gift in her life. It was good that they were alone in that house, because she thought that he could spend the rest of the night with his head between her thighs, worshipping her and making her breath come in pants. Lacey knew that if she looked down, she would see a bulge in his trousers, showing clearly that she wasn’t the only one in need of some relief.

Adam lapped at her repeatedly, parting her legs a little bit more and teasing her entrance with a finger before he slid it inside, causing her to writhe and moan desperately. She restrained herself from talking, because they had already done a plenty amount of that for the night, but she couldn’t help crying out whenever he found a new sensitive place to touch. He added a second finger, eliciting a new delighted sound to escape from her.

Lacey was aching, bucking her hips against his face, trying to get more friction and increase the sensations, moaning when his teeth scratched her skin. She knew she was lost at the moment she felt his mouth close around her clit and he sucked on it hard. Back arching, she bathed his chin with her juices and Gold finally separated from her, licking his fingers clean and grabbing a tissue from inside a drawer to wipe the mess from around his mouth.

Then he pulled her from the desk, bringing Lacey to rest against his chest. She let her hand wander around his body, until she found his hardness and stroked it softly.

“Let me make it up to you,” she muttered.

“No,” Gold answered, taking her hand away and petting her hair. “Not today, now you just rest, alright?”

“Alright,” Lacey agreed in a sleepy voice.

That night she slept there in his office. At some point, he stood up and took her to the huge reclining chair he had in a corner and placed her there, laying a blanket above her. He lit up the fireplace and sat by her side, watching her sleeping for some time, before his weary eyes betrayed him, and he also was dragged to unconsciousness.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lacey and Gold go to another ultrasound.  
> Milah has a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was revised by the lovely beastlycheese.

At twenty-one weeks along, Lacey felt a kick. She was all alone in the library, after sending Jasmine to pick lunch for them when it suddenly happened, a whole new strange pressure in her womb that could be also felt outside, if palming the right place. She was so thrilled by it that she immediately found her phone and called Adam to share the news. During the following evening, they spent a long time laughing while Baden tried to make the baby kick for him, squealing when he finally got to feel it.

Now, a whole week later, she was lying on Whale’s exam room at the clinic with Gold standing by her side as they waited for the doctor to come for their ultrasound, her swollen belly exposed for the not-so-cold gel to be spread atop of it. She had to admit that ever since Adam and her talked – even though in a not so clear way – she was feeling happier than she did in quite a long time. He was there with her, they constantly shared long conversations about their days at work or about their past, constantly shared funny moments with Bae and they constantly made love, even though this part was starting to fail as she got bigger and sex started to get more uncomfortable, although no less overwhelming, but still it got her thinking that it would be unlikely to happen in another month or two, unless they got more creative.

In one thing, Lacey was sure, however, was that she was pretty lucky for having hired Jasmine, otherwise she would probably have already been fired for the great amount of days she had skipped her job at the library, but the other girl, didn't mind covering for her, as she also needed the extra money it provided her. Lacey had her gaze fixed on Gold delighting herself with how nervous he always looked whenever they had these appointments, she didn't know what bothered him so much or if it was just anxiety that left him like that, but she thought that it was amusing.

He kept rubbing his hands together, tapping his fingers against the others, it was a nervous habit of his. She was about to make a joke when the door was opened and Whale passed through it, smiling at them as he closed it once more before sitting on his stool.

“And here it is the two of you again,” the doctor bounced, turning on his machine before looking at her. “How are you feeling, Miss French?”

“That hellish morning sickness went away, so despite being kicked most of the time, I guess I’m fine,” she shrugged. “But I’m pretty aware that this baby hates me.”

Whale laughed. Gold didn’t.

“Let’s take a look at the little demon’s spawn then,” the doctor said with a chuckle, spreading some gel on Lacey’s belly.

“Forgive me, doctor,” Gold started, “I’d rather not to have you calling my child a demon’s spawn, that sounds nasty.”

Lacey rolled her eyes at this, shaking her head to assure Whale that Adam definitely had no sense of humour as he started to move the probe over her skin, and the attention of all three of them turned to the monitor, where an image of a perfect human silhouette took form.

“Oh, my…” Lacey muttered.

“Yeah, there it is, your little…” Whale caught a mortal glance from Gold and swallowed. “One.”

“Totally perfect,” Adam mumbled, his eyes accompanying the traces on the screen and it felt like the first time he'd become a father all over again.

He'd been this excited when Bae was to be born and all these magic feelings were filling him all over again at the image of that tiny little person on the monitor of the machine. They had felt the child kicking, they had seen the littlest silhouettes of the baby in difference stages, they had several arguments over the contract that made it his and nobody else's, but until now it hadn't seemed so real, so ready to be out there bringing them joy.

He looked down and saw that Lacey was painfully biting down her lip, with such strength that it had become pale, her big blue eyes appearing to be filled with unshed tears. Was he delusional or was she getting sentimental?

“Well it seems to me that everything is alright with your baby,” Whale said, moving the probe in another direction with a smile playing on his lips. “Do you want to know if it’s a boy or girl?”

“Yes,” Adam immediately replied.

“No!” Lacey exclaimed at the same time.

The doctor arched an eyebrow for them. “Yes or no?”

Breathing in, Lacey mentally told herself to calm down, because she knew that rushing out of the exam room probably wouldn't be good, and could just leave both of them thinking her crazy, but her heart was already beating differently from seeing the images of the child and she couldn't allow herself to go ahead with this, to just get even more enchanted by something she had already sold. _No_ , this had to stop, and she couldn't hear it, just like she could never set eyes on that baby when it was born.

“I mean, I don’t want to," she said, when Whale took the probe away from her, after taking some screenshots and offered Lacey a tissue. "But I’ll clean myself outside and you can tell him. He has all the right to know.”

“Lacey - ” Gold called as she slipped off the exam bed, heading to the door.

“I don’t want to know, alright?”

She went to the end of the corridor where the bathrooms were set and cleaned the gel from her belly before pulling her blouse down, her chin trembling with her efforts to not cry. If Lacey could, she would never come back there and be forced to keep seeing the growth of that kid. Taking a deep breath, she went back to the corridor and found Gold waiting for her in front of the same room they were minutes ago.

“Are you upset?”

“No," she shook her head, passing directly to the exit without waiting for him, but knowing that he was already on her heels. "I just didn’t want to know, is that so difficult to understand?”

Adam sighed, walking faster, so he could catch up with her and offer Lacey a sonogram. “Your copy.”

“I don’t want it,” she said harshly, looking away from him.

_Why was he so damn stupid? Why did he kept insisting and pushing things with her when she clearly took herself out of the boat right from the very start?_ Lacey didn't want that baby and she needed him to get over it so they could continue with their lives. But just as she was upset with the whole situation, so was he.

“What the hell is wrong with you today?”

“Fuck off, Adam!” Lacey shout out. “I’m going to the library and no, I don’t need you to drive me there.”

The rage inside her was something that couldn’t be handled and she left Adam behind, watching her back until she disappeared down the street, trying to calm her breath as she felt the child turn around inside her. He or she, certainly didn’t like her, because it probably sensed that it was unwanted, so it kept turning and kicking and smashing her organs in order to get her uncomfortable and make her pay for being a horrible person.

Gripping tightly to the handle of her purse, she quickened her steps, aiming for the library and the rest her huge chair behind the circulation desk would bring. Maybe there, she could distract herself with some work and forget how terrible this day was going, but then, she noticed the shadow just some feet behind, keeping the same pace as her and suddenly stopped, ready to tell Adam he should go back to his damn office before she said another thing she was going to regret, but it wasn’t him. When Lacey turned around all she saw was Leroy and his grumpy face.

“One hundred and fifty,” the man said, languidly.

“What?”

“Bunny sent me to tell you that your father owes him one hundred and fifty and you have until the end of the month to pay, lass.”

She gasped, unable to believe this was really happening to her. _What else would happen next?_ Lacey was starting to think that she’d better find a flat somewhere very far away and get the hell out of that freaking town while she still had the chance of doing so.

“Tell Bunny,” she started, angrily, “that I do not even speak to my father anymore, and if he thinks that I’m going to keep paying for all the drinks he still dares to sell him, then he is mad.”

“If I was you, I wouldn’t do that,” Leroy warned with a frown, folding his arms against his chest. “Bunny may not look so, but he is dangerous.”

“I’m not caring much for danger right now,” Lacey shrugged.

And she couldn’t be speaking truer. Her life didn’t mean that much to anyone and Ruby would probably be the only person missing her if something terrible happened. Gold wouldn’t care too much, as long as he got what he wanted and Baden would move on fast, he was a kid after all and she hadn’t done anything remarkable for him.

Leroy snorted. “You should. How much do you think Gold would pay to have his child back?”

At this, she swallowed hard.

“Are you threatening my baby again?”

“I’ve told you I don’t like to do so, sister,” Leroy assured, almost as if he regretted his actions, as if he felt sorry for her, “and when Bunny gets what he wants it won’t be me to do it, but take the warning from someone who truly knows the guy. Give him the money.”

He disappeared down an alley, but she stood there for another moment, without knowing what she should do next.

* * *

 

It was Saturday night and Milah took the remains of the pizza they had been sharing to the kitchen, where her husband - as she had married Killian Jones within the last few weeks on an impulsive night - was having a drink while she entertained her son. Milah slid the rest of the pizza onto a plate, opening the refrigerator to place it inside before she took the seat near Killian and grabbed his glass, lifting it to her mouth to take a sip of his drink.

"Bunny is tracking her again," Killian said, referring to Adam Gold's lover, the twenty-five-year-old brunette Milah so hated, "it will end badly."

With a shrug, the dark-haired woman chuckled. "She deserves it, doesn't she?"

They were pretty aware of Bunny's plans to extort money from Lacey French, knowing that she was unstable, easy to manipulate and now in a fragile condition too. Milah didn't mind to hear that, she actually would enjoy seeing her reach rock bottom, because as much as she didn't care for what Gold did or who he did it with, she felt extremely betrayed to find him at The Rabbit Hole on what was supposed to be their wedding night with that girl tangled around him.

Knowing Adam as she had known him in the years they had been together, Milah was sure that Lacey couldn't be with him because she actually loved him or because he was good in bed, because both those things seemed impossible to her. Glancing back at Killian she saw that he was playing with one of his multiple rings.

"Your ex hooked up with the wrong chick," he pondered.

Sighing Milah shout: "Baden! Come here please!"

She was going to get something today, to know for sure that Lacey would soon be gone or she wouldn't be able to sleep. The little boy came running from the living room, his face as smiley as always. He struggled to get up on the tall stool, but finally made it, trying to keep his balance.

"What is it mama?"

"Do you want to play a game?" Milah asked, smirking.

"Sure!"

"So, I'll make some questions up and you can only answer them with the truth, right?"

Baden's eyebrows narrowed a little with mistrust. He wasn't any fool, although he was just a small child, he could tell when his mother had something wicked passing through her mind and he definitely didn't like it, however he couldn't just refuse to do what she had asked.

"Right," he nodded hesitantly.

Approaching him, Milah put her mind to work, thinking about the doubts that had been haunting her lately. "Is Lacey still hidden in your father's house?"

_There it was_ , Baden thought that this was coming, his mother wouldn't leave Lacey in peace so soon. He couldn't understand why she hated her so much, when she was one of the funniest and kindest people he knew.

"She is not hidden," the boy bounced, "she lives with us."

"Do you constantly see your father with her?" Milah questioned. "I mean, alone?"

"Not much," Baden balanced his shoulders, uncomfortable with the whole conversation, he just wanted to be in his other home, maybe eating popcorn while watching some cartoons in the living room, with his papa and Lacey spoiling him, but now he needed to answer his mama. "They are only alone when I go to sleep or when she has nightmares and sleeps in his bed."

"Nightmares," Killian guffawed.

"Disgusting," Milah muttered under her breath, turning around to face her husband. "I've already told you, the bitch wants money, otherwise she wouldn't be sleeping with him and she would have already had an abortion."

Baden's face showed a grimace at the new word. "What is an abortion?"

"Nothing," his mother cut him off, changing the subject so she wouldn't have to answer any of his questions and she could be the one leading the interrogation again. "I suppose your father is excited to have another baby."

"He is, I'm too." Bae guaranteed, before adding innocently: "I made Lacey a card for Mother's Day to tell her so and say thanks for her being my second mama."

"You did what?" Milah gasped, blinking repeatedly, praying she had heard it wrong.

"I made her a card."

She grasped both his shoulders, looking furiously at the boy. All she could think about was that Adam was brainwashing him in order to make Bae hate her and love his new whore, but she wasn't going to let that happen. Milah would destroy Adam and Lacey before he put her own son against her.

"Listen to me, Baden Gold, you have only one mother and it is not that little slut."

"Mama - " the boy tried to say, looking completely frightened.

"Go to your room!" She demanded.

"But mama - " he begged.

"Now!"

Quickly jumping off the stool, Baden brushed away the tears in his eyes without knowing what he had done to anger his mother so much. Milah went to the counter, where she had left her purse earlier and took her phone out, before starting to look inside the inner pockets. She knew she had placed a business card in there not so long ago, when she had happened to stumble on someone she hadn't seen in a while, but that was going to be very useful for what she had planned now.

"What are you doing?" Killian inquired, coming to stand next to her.

"Adam made a choice when he didn't rid himself from the bar bitch like I asked," she grumbled. "He chose her instead of Baden, and now he is going to see the big mistake that that is."

"Milah," Killian gripped at her wrist stopping her movements just when she reached for the card, "what are you planning?"

She took a long languid breath, pulling her arm away from him and grabbing her phone to type the number as she said: "We are going back to your house in Ireland and we are taking Baden with us."

Then she placed the cell-phone to her ear, listening to the noises as Killian stared at her in shock at this decision, but he hadn't much to say, as he never really did. The attendant at the lawyer's office didn't take long to pick up, and even before she finished making her introduction, the dark-haired woman, was already speaking.

"Hello, I'd like to speak with Cora Mills, tell her that this is Milah Jones."

* * *

 

On that same night, in the other end of the town, inside the salmon house, after a long period of utter silence, Lacey had just finished taking a bath. She had found a small flat in Seattle that morning and had made a list with the pros of moving there – which according to her plan was going to include, running away from Storybrooke and angering Gold with her disappearance – but she had only written up five items that seemed to be poor excuses to leave everything behind, including her own problems.

She dried her hair, tightening the lace of her bathrobe before opening the door to her bedroom and letting herself fall on the mattress. Fixing her gaze on the ceiling and, letting the lights of the lamp blind her until she had to turn her face to the other side, seeing flickers dance in her vision until it become normal again. Lacey sat and reached for the nightstand where her hairbrush should have been placed, but finding something interesting above it, right next to the frame where a picture of her and her mother where placed with her first sonogram tucked above it.

The brunette took the black picture from beneath the hairbrush, her breath getting caught in her throat, because it was the most recent sonogram showing her baby’s beautiful silhouette and it had a blue post-it glued to it. Adam’s amazing handwriting had left a message.

**_I don’t want to fight anymore. This child is not the only one who already has a place in my heart._ **

Worrying at her lip, she stood up, trying to prepare herself to change everything as she went to the hallway and straight to Adam Gold’s bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to do things right?  
> What do you think Lacey is having?


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gold revels the gender of baby to Lacey.  
> Meanwhile, Milah has a meeting with Cora.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was revised by the lovely beastlycheese.
> 
> Hey, it's Monday, a.k.a Bittersweet day, but I'd like to ask you guys to stay tuned because I'll be posting some extra stuff this week, as Tinny asked me for the lost smut scene in chapter one, the baby's conception and I intend to post it as an one-shot until Friday.  
> Also, I have a job interview on Wednesday - finally! - so fingers crossed for me, because if I get it I'll be teaching History to a bunch of high-schoolers and it is only a part time job, so it would be wondeful.

Gold was looking for his laptop bag. He needed to do some work, but he hadn't managed to find it yet, maybe because he was extremely nervous after sneaking inside Lacey's room to place that sonogram on her nightstand, knowing that it was probably a mistake. Now, he had totally forgot about where he had left that stupid bag, thinking it could be in his study, he went to the door, opening it to find Lacey behind, just about to knock, holding the black and white picture and wearing a fluffy bathrobe. He opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't, because the expression on Lacey's face, both angry and broken made it impossible.

He gesticulated for her to come in and let the door close. Once she did so, the brunette looked down at the sonogram in her hands, the blue post-it still glued above it, and waved her head trying to organize her own thoughts, a great amount of words coming to her mind all too fast, leaving her confused and unsure about what she should choose to say. She took a deep breath and looked up at him.

"I can't do this anymore," Lacey said, defeated, never before had she sounded so broken.

"What?"

Of all things that wasn’t what Adam had been expecting. He imagined that sooner or later she would look for him to start another pointless argument and shout nonsense that didn’t match the expressions on her face, but in fact, she was there making even less sense than she would if Lacey had just come there to insult him like usual.

Turning her back to him, she placed the sonogram on his dresser and stopped in front of the window, facing the quiet of the night and feeling her heart beat as fast as butterfly wings inside her chest. She wanted to be honest with him, but she also wanted to spare herself from the pain she knew would eventually come, because her soul had already been crashed too many times to suffer one more. Years ago, when she had some therapy sections with Archibald Hopper, a local phycologist, he had told her that closing herself off was what truly was going to bring her pain, not the other way around.

They had discussed many, many times her bad habits, but she was too full of bitterness to care about any of the redhead’s advice and, after a while, she stopped going to therapy, sure that she could lead her own life without anyone’s interference. Or at least, that was what she told herself. Now, without any other option, Lacey thought that opening herself a little, was her only solution.

"How much do you truly care about me?"

Adam walked towards her, cupping her shoulders from behind and pressing his brow to the back of her head, feeling the smell of her recently washed hair.

"With all my heart," he answered softly. "Every single time I see you around this house glowing and beautiful, the only thing I wish to do is to ask you to never leave, to stay here and raise this child with me. I love you, Lacey, I know you may not believe it, but my feelings for you are real."

Closing her eyes, Lacey held on to those words like they were the air she needed to survive. How was he even allowed to sound so sweet and perfect? And how was she even allowed to fall for a couple of sentences that could as well be a lie? But maybe that was what she liked about him, the fact that he always sounded like a dangerous daydream in which she would always be willing to drown.

"I want to stay, I want to be yours, but I'm afraid that I'll ruin everything," Lacey found herself saying, her tongue betraying her pride. "Just to be standing right here I'm feeling weaker than I've ever been in my whole life."

"Someone once told me that love is weakness," Adam answered in his amazing husky voice.

“You are mine.”

Spinning in his arms, so she could face him, Lacey slid her fingers through his greying hair, letting her nails caress his scalp, as she pulled him in for a kiss, her lips coming hungrily to meet his, skin smashing skin, working together at a desperate pace, her body as close to his as it could get. He received a couple of kicks from their child, who was clearly unhappy for being smashed between its parents.

They broke apart laughing a little breathlessly, Gold palming both hands to the mound under her bathrobe. Oh, God, she hated the way he glanced so full of love at her bump, but she mostly did so because it made her heart warm and flip, and suddenly the girl he met at the bar was gone, letting the old bookish, sentimental Lacey come to the surface.

"Adam, what...” she started hesitantly. “What are we having?"

His hand came to caress her cheek, smoothing the skin with a new shine of hope appearing in his brown eyes. "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes."

He pulled her closer again, resting their foreheads together and looking deep into her soul. Adam look handsomely happy to have her in his arms there, holding that information for another moment while a grin played in his lips.

"We are having a girl."

"A girl?” Lacey smiled. “A baby girl?"

"Aye, sweetheart," Adam confirmed.

That small, simple word he used only with her, mixed with his beautiful thick accent, had the power of making her blood warm in her veins, pulsing quickly and stronger, bringing her infinite desire for him pour back to the surface. Lacey moved Gold’s hand along her belly, to the point she wished to show him and pressed his fingers right at the spot where she was feeling the pressure.

"I believe her foot is here because she keeps kicking," Lacey said, contemplatively, before getting his other hand to place it a little further above, "and her elbow might be right there. I can feel it pressing me sometimes."

"Can I ask you a question, Lacey?" Adam inquired, petting the spots she had indicated like he could feel the perfect shape of the baby’s body. "Do you want to be her mother?"

She sucked a breath, stilling in place. Did she want it? She wasn’t sure. Lacey had been considering it when her impulses of running away hit her hard, but she still couldn’t believe that she would manage to do it properly, taking care of a child. No, Lacey would do everything wrong. What she truly needed and wanted was to go back to her old life, where she had nothing to worry about.

"I want her to be healthy and cared for, but I don't believe I should be the one doing this," Lacey confessed. "I'm dangerous, I'm a problem. I want to drink right now."

"You're exquisite," Adam guffawed.

"You told me this at the bar."

"And I'm telling you this again," he said in a decisive tone. "Think about what you truly want, Lacey, because if you want me, then you must know that a whole family is part of the package."

Gold said this, but wasn’t losing time, already nibbling at her earlobe and letting his hands slipping inside the top of her bathrobe, at first only touching the skin of her collarbones, but then going down to cup her breasts, his thumbs brushing at her nipples and making her gasp.

"Can - " Lacey started, palming her hands on his back. "Can we please live today and not think about the future, just for now?"

Adam nodded, undoing the lace of her robe and taking it down her shoulders to leave her completely naked, while Lacey freed him from his tie and started to open the buttons of his shirt, untucking it from his trousers. They kissed, lost somewhere between lust and despair and Lacey’s back hit the dresser behind her, but she didn’t mind at all, because she had taken off Adam’s shirt and the feeling of his chest pressed against hers while their tongues fought against the others was enough to create a wetness between her thighs.

"I'm such a bad person for keep using you like this,” Adam purred. “A real monster."

"I'm letting myself be used. And if you're a monster, then let me confess to you that I have a weakness for the darkness," Lacey said, lips parting to let out a moan when his index finger parted her folds and found her clit. "Tell me, how dark can you be, Mr. Gold?"

"Darker, dearie," he answered, pulling one of her legs up to permit his finger more access and added his thumb to pinch her little pearl and make a squeal leave her mouth. "Much, much darker."

"Bed,” Lacey demanded. “Now."

He dragged her there, stopping in front of it to let Lacey untuck his belt and open his trousers. It fell to his heels, alongside with his boxers and he sat on the edge of the bed, bringing the brunette to sit on his lap, and Lacey eagerly reached for his cock, lifting herself on her knees to align them, before she thrusted forward, whimpering as his length filled her completely.

"Oh, fuck," Gold cursed under his breath, placing his hands on her hips to guide her movements and throwing his head back when she moved harder than he thought she would. "Yes, this way, my love."

Lacey wanted to be daring and wild like she had in their first times together, but the weight of her belly was certainly an obstacle for that, hitting his abdomen every single time she rocked against Adam. She made a whiny sound enlacing her arms behind his neck and parting her legs as far as she could, to increase the friction between their bodies, every movement bringing her closer to the edge, yet not enough to make her come.

Pushing him back onto the mattress Lacey thought she finally could have the space she needed to work, riding him while Gold groaned and sank his fingers into her skin with strength enough to leave marks later. She could feel him stilling inside her, and saw as his jaw clenched and his face got reddish with the efforts not to cum just now. Lacey watched as he moved his hand to the point where they were joined, but she took it away, bringing his fingers up to caress her breast before she let her own hand fall to where he intended to touch her.

Adam gasped, locking eyes with Lacey when she started to rub at her own clit while still rocking against him, a smug, teasing smile on her parted lips, that sent jolts of pleasure to his groin and suddenly he couldn’t take it anymore. Whimpering her name along with some curses, he spurted his seed inside her just a couple of seconds before her walls tightened and she cried out loud, reaching her own edge.

Her breaths were coming in pants and Lacey’s whole body was still shaking with the after-shocks as Adam shrunk inside her, getting flaccid again. For a long moment, she couldn’t move, too exhausted and lost in blissfulness to do so. When she finally found strength in herself to roll to her side she received the most painful kick on her spine, indicating that the baby wasn’t happy about its parent’s recent activities.

She closed her eyes, leaning against Gold’s shoulder and trying to catch her breath before she exploded in laugher.

"Your sick bastard," Lacey babbled, "using an innocent pregnant woman to find your release."

"Oh, but you love it when I do it."

He moved to pulled her into a kiss and she knew that they were a mess right now, her bath completely wasted as she was covered with sweat and feeling her thighs slick with their mixed fluids.

"Mm, possibly," she muttered, toying with his hair. "I have a stipulation."

"A stipulation?” Adam arched an eyebrow. “Well, what is it?"

She looked down at her swollen belly where their bothered child insisted on keeping kicking her with all the strength it had.

"Do not dress her in pink all the time,” Lacey asked. “I loathe pink. Dress her in yellow, purple, red... Be creative, but do not let her be another little girl dressed in pink like the others."

"Alright," Gold laughed, thinking that it was the oddest thing she could be asking from him right now. "As you wish, my lady."

"Stop it! You sound incredibly weird when you use those antiquated words," she said with a roll of her blue eyes, before laying on her back again and grabbing his hand to lead it to her parted legs. "Now, distract yourself with something useful."

Adam Gold smirked, because no matter how awkward things were between them, Lacey seemed to never have enough of it. And he would never find any will inside himself to deny her such a thing.

* * *

 

Cora Mills’ office was located in a large mirrored building that was certainly the most sophisticated in the whole town, so impressive that it appeared to be out of place there, in an area where most constructions were old-fashioned and reflected the calm life of most of its residents. She was Gold’s long-term rival in the law business, both of them were always facing each other in court and trying to overcome the other.

They had gone to the same law-school in Boston, where they shared a quick affair, that was until Cora passed in all her final tests with her boyfriend’s help, then she dumped him and started to dedicate herself to being the best lawyer around, but in fact she never got to beat him.

Milah Jones had met her a couple of years ago during a charity event in which she had attended alongside her now ex-fiancé and although she had talked little with the woman at that occasion, the two of them started to bump around town and eventually became mutual friends, without Gold’s knowledge. Now Cora’s services appeared to be Milah’s only solution because she knew that if there was someone in that town willing to face a custody fight against the most feared and hated lawyer around, it was her.

She took the elevator to the floor where the older woman would be waiting for her and looked for the indicated room, knocking on the door before entering and taking the seat in front of her.

"You know,” Cora started with a smirk, “I usually don't meet with anyone on Sundays, but you seemed to have something worth my time to discuss."

"I do," Milah assured, clasping her hands in her lap. "I want to reclaim my son's full guardianship."

The chestnut-haired woman raised an eyebrow at the information, wondering if she had misheard her. "That seems odd coming from someone like you."

"Adam gives me no choice, he has gone mad, got a bar girl under his wing and I don't want the bitch anywhere near to my boy."

So, that was what this was about. Cora knew pretty well that Baden’s full guardianship wasn’t something Milah would be willing to fight for without a good reason, or she would have come there right after that infamous wedding, or non-wedding. No, she didn’t care much about the boy, but she also didn’t like Gold even a bit, and she didn’t want to see him happy either.

"I see," Cora chuckled. "Jealous Milah?"

"I ran away, I left him behind, ashamed in that church. Why would I be?"

"Oh, I did hear about that!" The lawyer replied with a delighted laugh. "A wonderful event for all I know. But as someone who also left Gold behind, I have to admit that he has his charms."

"She wants his money," Milah bounced, rolling her greyish eyes. "The little slut is pregnant, Cora."

There it is, reason number two, Cora thought. It wasn’t a secret to anyone that the thing Adam Gold wished for the most was to have a family, one that reminded him nothing about his past and which he could care for unconditionally. Both of them knew that Milah running away from that church had not just crushed his heart, but also erased his hopes of providing the dream for his son, however now he might be getting a second chance.

"And you certainly know how to recognise her plan, don't you, my dear?” Cora mocked, making the other woman’s cheeks turn bright red. “It was yours not so long ago."

"Yeah, but the bastard prevented it, I would only get something from him after two years of a stable marriage and if I was strictly loyal to him," Milah said with a sigh. "I realised that I couldn't do it right at the last moment. I love Killian."

"Loving no one is always the best choice, you know," the lawyer shrugged.

Milah looked through the window, fixing her gaze on the car parked across the street, where her new husband was waiting for her alongside her son. The boy was completely unaware of what she was doing up there, but he had no voice in this. If asked, she had no doubt that Baden would be the whiny boy he always was and beg to stay with his father and his drunk girlfriend; in other times Milah wouldn’t have minded, because she had better plans for her life than to spend it taking care of a child, but Gold had challenged her the day he decided to keep Lacey in his house.

Maybe, she considered, that she might have forgotten, but he had allowed Bae to get the idea in his head that that twenty-something girl was a better mother than her and that, Milah would never forgive. Gold would pay dearly for what he had done, that she would assure. At the end, the law was on her side and the judges always choose to give the custody of a child to the mother and she was counting on that.

"I think I'm aware. Now, are you going to help me or not?"

"Of course, I will," Cora replied, already opening her laptop to start writing the request.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gold discovers that Milah wants Bae's full guardianship.  
> Lacey is threatened again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was revised by the amazing beastlycheese.
> 
> Oh, oh, we are so close to the end! I can't believe it. But we still have quite a few exciting chapters ahead.

The letter was shaking in Gold's trembling hands, the paper getting crumpled under his fingertips, a lump beginning to block his throat and making it difficult to breath. A couple of months ago, Baden had said that he had spent a great amount of time stuck waiting for his mother inside the car with Killian. His mother had gone to talk with a friend after saying a bunch of bad things about him and Lacey. He had absentmindedly given a quick thought to the building his son had described, but he thought it was too impossible that he was right, so he has just forgot about it. However, now he regretted not having prepared himself for this, because every single thing that mattered to him seemed just about to be lost.

He eyed the liquor he had served himself from earlier still intact in the glass, condensing and wetting the dark table as drops of water slid from it. Gold closed his eyes, tempted to rip the letter into tiny pieces and set it on fire, the sound of the door opening behind him not enough to free him from his hypnotic state. Her footsteps against the woodened floor where soft and slow, almost careful until she reached for him, sliding her hands down his chest.

"Hey, stupid, what is going on?" Lacey asked, casually.

Gold felt weak, just about to break down, but his anger was taking over him and he pulled her hands away, standing up and casting the letter aside, throwing it on his desk as he took his glass of whiskey, walking towards the fireplace, refusing to stare at her. He took a long burning sip, while Lacey glanced puzzled at him, waiting for her answer, but he still needed to get some courage to speak, so he breathed in and looked up at her.

"I'm being called to court, over Baden's guardianship," Adam confessed with a sigh.

The expression in Lacey's face changed, she looked in shock, her shoulders shrunk, she had a hand on her back and the other one palming her eight-month long pregnant belly.

"What?"

"Milah wants to fight for his full custody."

"But - " she blinked and he swore that he could see some unshed tears in her eyes, as if Lacey was fighting with a sudden need to cry. "But I thought she had given it to you after she ran away. Don't you have any document that assures that his guardianship is yours?"

Tightening his grip on the glass, Gold shook his head. And what a fool he was for not protecting himself against this. He should have known better, he should have at least wanted to do everything right legally but he couldn't imagine Milah would ever ask for that, because she never before showed any interest in having Baden around. God, she barely spent time with him these days.

"No, our agreement was never settled on paper," he explained, "and now she claims I took him from her and forbade most visits."

Lacey narrowed her eyes, looking no less threatening than she usually would wearing a pink printed maternity dress that had been a gift from her assistant in the library, a young girl called Jasmine. But the anger was still there, shinning powerfully as she stepped forward.

"Wait, you made a whole contract to assure I would give you our daughter but you trusted bitch Milah's word about Baden?" She inquired furiously. "What is your fucking problem?"

Feeling his own mad hate over that situation burst, Gold threw his glass against the fireplace's wall making it break and causing the flames to lift up momentarily. Lacey jumped, startled by this unlikely behaviour.

"I'm an idiot," Adam cursed in a low voice.

"Whoa, hey, come sit and calm down," the girl by his side demanded, reaching to stroke his arm, but he shifted away from her touch.

It was like his vision was covered by red lenses and everything he could see was blurred by his rage. His chest was rising and falling quickly with the adrenaline running through his veins and telling him to do something, anything from stopping the inevitable from happening. Because he was a lawyer and he understood very well that judges always took the mother's side in a custody fight, unless they were facing a lawyer like him, and what a pity it was that he couldn't defend himself.

"She will take my boy, Lacey!" Gold yelled. "I do not expect you to understand my despair of course, as you care nothing about your own flesh and blood either, but I do care about my children."

Lacey gasped, a heartbroken look crossing her face as her chin trembled and her stubbornness weakened.

"You know how to be a complete bastard sometimes," she spitted out at him.

Then she moved to the door, casting a last glare full of pain to him before slamming it shut behind her. Snorting and knowing that he had really been a bastard to her, Gold followed he girl, but she had already grabbed her purse and was walking towards the hallway.

"Lacey, wait," he pleaded, "I'm sorry!"

However, she didn't look back, she just left.

* * *

 

Some hours later, Lacey found herself in the market street of town, walking beside Ruby with some plastic bags full of things she didn't actually need to buy. It had been quite a long time since she last went shopping, because between being bribed by Bunny and saving money for her move to Seattle, she hadn't much money left. Today however, she needed to take away her distress, so she got to use some of the money just for the joy of spending it.

"What a jerk!" Ruby exclaimed, with a narrowed brow.

"Yeah, I hate him today," Lacey snorted. "And most days too."

She caught a glance of herself reflected in the windows of a store and narrowed her nose at how ridiculous she looked with those clothes that Jasmine gave her. Unfortunately, they were the only ones she could manage to fit into lately, so if she didn't look like she was wearing her grandmother's dresses, then she would have to walk around completely naked.

"I thought you liked him," Ruby continued to speak, "usually."

"I - " Lacey shook her head. "I don't know how I feel anymore, Ruby, everything I know is that I don't want Milah to take Baden away from him. That boy is his whole world."

"Yeah," her friend agreed, knowing from Lacey's stories and her quick visits to the Golds' house, that this was true. "And soon your little girl will be too."

Biting down her lip, Lacey rearranged the bags in her arm as she stared at the big mound that was now her belly. She was feeling all weird these last few months, everything was uncomfortable, everything made her angry and the sensation of the baby moving inside her was simply so different that it made her want to laugh with joy at the tickles it caused her sometimes, but also made her want to cry on other occasions at how it felt painful when the child hit some wrong places.

Gold, appeared to be astonished all the time, full of excitement with the prospect of having another kid in his house, just like Bae was. But now, everything seemed unsure and poor little Baden might never get to meet his sister.

"I hate her," Lacey bounced, gaze fixed on the end of the street. "Milah, I mean."

Sighing her friend gripped her wrist, dragging Lacey to a shop by their left. "Come with me."

She hadn't realised what kind of store it was, until they were inside, which made her heart race a little, and a lump appear in her throat. The need to run away from there was too big and she felt like the store was closing around her, bringing all these things to her face and making her breathless, just like if she was having a claustrophobia attack.

"Ruby," Lacey said with difficulty, "what are we doing here?"

"I didn't see you buying a thing for baby Gold so, I'll do it," the other girl shrugged.

"There is a reason why I'm not buying anything, she is not mine!" Lacey yelled, freaking out. "Gold already has a whole nursery full of baby things for her. I didn't take a look at it, but I saw him working with some furniture inside there."

Some weeks ago, she had seen Adam carry two cans of paint inside the house and put them inside the room next to his. On the next day, when they arrived home, Mrs. Potts told him that the furniture he had ordered had arrived during the morning. They never talked about that, although she knew that he was clearly making room for his daughter, but as he didn't talk about it, Lacey just supposed that he just didn't want her to be involved.

Ruby picked up two tiny white dresses and showed them to her. "But I bet you can't help yourself and are imagining her in these beautiful little clothes right now."

"No, I'm not doing it," she said, folding her arms.

"Geez, Lacey," Ruby complained, "continue to sound like that and I'll have to agree with Gold when he says you care nothing about her."

Eyes narrowing, Lacey crossed the shop, going straight to the new-born section and picking out a small purple dress, that was just the most beautiful piece of clothing she saw inside that place. _Yes_ , she would like to see her daughter in this, even if just for once.

"I'm buying this one," she told Ruby.

"But - " the other girl started, but Lacey interrupted her.

"I like the colour. I can picture a baby in it and even if I never get to set eyes on her, I'll give it to Gold and ask him to take a picture when she wears it, so I can use it as my lock-screen and when I look at it every day I can cry with regret. Is that what you and him and the whole wide world want to hear?"

Moving to the counter Lacey payed for the baby's clothes and took the plastic bag, leaving the shop with her best friend on her heels.

"I'm sorry, Lacie, I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I don't want to get attached to her, is that so difficult to understand?" Lacey shout out, turning around so she could face her. "It is already killing me to think that today she is right here, nestled inside me and in just a couple of weeks she will be gone forever. But I will need to move on, Ruby, so please stop asking me if I care about my own daughter, because I do, more than I want to admit."

"Lacey - "

Shaking her head, she mumbled: "I have some work to do."

Letting some tears fall from her eyes, Lacey disappeared down the street, going to the library, where she could think a little, calming herself enough before she went back to Gold's house, because even if he deserved to be treated harshly, Baden didn't and she knew that, by the time she went back, Milah would have already dropped him off.

However, when she arrived the library, the course of her day changed completely, because laying there on the floor right in front of the door, was an envelope with a short, but clear threat. Bunny wanted her to pay a thousand dollars to him, immediately, or he would send his men after her.

* * *

 

In all the years Gold had known Cora Mills, he had never gone inside her office. He usually avoided that place and was very grateful that it was very far away from his own law firm, so he only met that despicable woman when they were at court at the same time. She was like one of those distant memories that only came to haunt him to remind Adam of how stupid he had been in the past.

After parking his car near the extremely showy building, Gold headed to the entryway to take the elevator to the twelfth floor. He landed in a black and red stylised office with a grumpy security man staring at him all the time. Adam didn't bother with this, he knew that he wasn't welcomed there at all, but for his son he would go to hell and come back any time he must. Stopping in front of the receptionist, he gave her a little smirk.

"I'm here to talk to Cora Mills, you can say it is Gold."

"Oh," the blonde girl muttered, "she told me that you'd come soon. My name is Anastasia, please, follow me."

Standing up, the girl led him through the hallway and indicated the door he should enter, before leaving without another word. Gold didn't hesitate, he grabbed the knob and swung the door open stepping in to find his ex, typing something on her laptop.

"Acting behind my back again, huh, Cora?"

"Uh, I was expecting your visit," she said, lifting her head to look up at him with a bright evil smile, gesticulating to the stuffed red armchair in front of her desk. "Sit down, please."

"I'm fine right where I am," Gold remarked.

Closing the lid of the laptop, Cora picked a pen that was by its side and started to turn it around her fingers as she stared at Gold with that glow of victory in her eyes.

"So, if you are here to discuss the letter I sent you we'd better start putting all our cards on the table," she smirked, moving her chair so she was facing him from the same angle. "Milah wants to claim Baden's guardianship for herself and move to Ireland."

"You already made that very clear, dearie. I'm mostly interested in the other cards on this table," he replied slowly. "Explain to me, why."

"The girl you're keeping in your house, Lacey French," Cora said with a flourish of her hand. "So, this is what Milah is proposing; if the girl disappears, no one goes to court and she will leave you in peace."

He should have seen that one coming, he should have known. Milah may not want him, but she also didn't want to see him happy, for some twisted reason all she ever wished for was him to be sad and miserable. She had warned him right from the very start, when she first saw Lacey in his house, but he never thought that Milah might take her threats forward.

"That girl," Gold said, stepping forward, jaw clenched and voice frightening, "is carrying a child of mine."

"You can lose a child you never got to meet or the boy you already love so much, it's your choice," Cora answered with a shrug.

He blinked with disbelief.

"You're asking me to choose between my children?" Adam gasped. "You really have no heart, right dearie?"

Cora leaned back against her chair, making herself comfortable while his whole body started to shake with rage.

"If you fight, I'll make sure that Milah gets what she wants."

"I'm not abandoning my child and throwing Lacey out of my house," Gold bounced, with conviction, "you can prepare yourself Cora, because I won't give up. Not on this."

He turned around opening the door again so he could leave that sick place as fast as he could, but Cora's voice held him in the corridor for a moment more.

"Good luck, Adam," she shouted behind his back. "you'll need it."

* * *

 

Lacey entered The Rabbit Hole like a summer storm. She was so furious that everybody could notice her distress as she aimed for the counter, looking for any sign of the freaking chubby owner that she so learned to hate. When she located him serving a girl, that just like her, eight months ago look lost and desperate, Lacey crossed the bar with swift steps, laying the envelope on the counter right in front of him.

"What is this?" She questioned, eyes narrowed in a threatening expression.

"Your father's recent debts," Bunny shrugged, looking up at her.

Shaking her head, Lacey tried to take a deep breath to calm herself, but nothing seemed to help right now. She was having one of those bad, terrible days in which no matter what you do, everything will end just horribly and it just can't be stopped. In her hands were the bags with the things she had bought that afternoon with Ruby; she had no hurry to go back home to face Gold, because she knew that more heartbreak was yet to come. To complete the disaster, she had to end this, before she did something stupid like slapping Bunny's disgusting face.

"No one can waste a thousand dollars in drinks in less than two months!" Lacey insisted sceptically. "I paid the last three bills you sent, with the foolish hope that you'd leave me alone for once, but what a naïve girl I was. This is all about you getting easy money from me!"

"Well, let me explain things to you, Miss French, since you do not seem to be aware of anything," Bunny said in a sluggish tone, leaning against the counter, so his face was closer to hers. "Every single night your stupid father enters through this door, he sits here by this counter, drinks enough to gather some courage and then moves himself to the game tables in the back. He makes wagers he can not afford paying and loses them all."

"That's not true," she said, weakly.

But, God, as much as she wanted to deny it, Lacey needed to admit that this was some scenario in which she could easily picture her father in. He was lost, so damn lost that he was dragging her down with him.

"Oh, it is not?" The bar owner bounced with a laugh. "You have two options, lass, you pay up or we will go after him and then, after you. Gold will eventually pay me, if he ever wants to hold this baby you two have been waiting for."

Lacey swallowed. She was genuinely afraid, but she wasn’t going to show it to Bunny, so she held up her chin, being as impertinent and petulant as she dared.

"No," the girl answered, her voice sounding harsh and strong. "You won't play with my life anymore and you won't have any money from me nor from Gold, because I'll make sure I can get rid of this child, so you won't have anything to bargain with him."

Some weeks, Lacey thought, if she could hide from him for just some weeks then the child would arrive, she would give it to Gold and disappear from Storybrooke to never come back. Her life had just gotten more dangerous and Lacey just hoped she could make it right for her daughter, because once she was with Gold she would be protected and cared for, so she turned her back to Bunny, listening to him urging her to get very far away from there hearing just one last bit of advice come from him:

"I hope you're fast enough, Lacey, because I certainly am."


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gold declare his feelings for Lacey.  
> Lacey makes an impulsive decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was revised by the sweet beastlycheese.
> 
> Oh, we are so close to the end. Time for one to admit its feelings?

When Lacey French arrived home that night, she was feeling completely destroyed by everything thing that had happened during the day. She sighed deeply when the door closed behind her and quickly went upstairs where she took a bath, pulled on the most comfortable pyjamas she had and sat on the bed for a long time, brushing her hair until she was sure that her curls were not messy. Lacey considered leaving her bedroom to get something to eat in the kitchen, since she was starving, but she felt that her heart already had its share of pain for a day. It was better if she stayed right where she was and not chance running into Gold and starting another argument.

Curling herself up in bed, she pulled the bedcovers close, switched off the lamp and closed her eyes, falling into a deep sleep with the last sound of her stomach protesting its emptiness and the baby turning around, for the first time in weeks getting into a position that was nearly comfortable for her.

The next morning, Lacey woke up to the feeling that something bad was about to happen and not just bad as the last day had been, but even worse. She wasn’t the kind of person that would get obsessed with sudden strange feelings, but something deep inside her said that she should be worrying about this, at least once. The girl, however ignored it completely as she started to get ready for work, only giving herself some moments of procrastination, before her hunger finally forced her to go to the kitchen.

Baden Gold was hanging around the stairs, his backpack left aside on the corridor. When he saw her, he almost jumped with joy, coming to hug her legs and she gave him the first genuine smile she had managed to make ever since her argument with his father. She swooped him up, which brought tears to her eyes, because her back ached as hell and the baby started to kick madly at where its half-brother was wrapped around her.

"How was your weekend?" Lacey asked Bae, moving as fast as she could, to sit by the breakfast table with him on her lap, almost falling for the lack of space.

Unlike most days, Adam wasn’t in the kitchen, although some cereal boxes where left on the breakfast table alongside with the milk.

"Not that great," Baden shrugged. "Mama spends most of her time whispering bad things to her husband."

Was she impressed by those words? _No._ Did she wanted to punch Milah even more for neglecting her own son? _Hell yes._ Lacey wished to know what was that sick woman’s problem and why on earth would she want to be given Bae’s custody when she didn’t even care for him during the wispy weekends she spent with him. Milah must hate Adam more than anything in this world, otherwise Lacey doubted she would ever ask to have more time with the boy, but knowing that Bae was his father’s whole world, she was using him to hurt Adam in the worse way she could.

"What kind of bad things?" The brunette questioned, smoothing his hair.

Baden moved uncomfortably in her lap, avoiding her gaze. "Just about you and papa."

"Oh," Lacey muttered.

And no, she wasn’t surprised by that too. She only hoped that the things Milah said about them in front of a five-year-old wasn’t as bad she imagined them to be, for Baden’s own sake.

"That's ok," the little boy said with a tiny grin. "I still like you."

"I like you too, Bae, very much."

He threw his arms around her the best way he could with her huge belly between them, but Lacey appreciated the clumsy hug anyway. She was very fond of that boy and she wasn’t the kind of person who randomly likes other people’s children. Lacey had enjoyed Bae’s company right from the very start and if she could pick one person to protect at all costs in this world, this person would be Baden Gold. Him and of course her baby girl, which was now kicking at him, claiming some space.

"She likes to kick," Baden said, departing from her and slipping to the floor.

"She is being a bad girl today," Lacey answered with a small laugh, standing up too and heading to the refrigerator. "Do you want a sandwich? I'm starving."

"No, I’ve already eaten," he smiled, shaking his head. "I'd better go brush my teeth and get ready to school before papa comes."

"Alright."

Lacey turned back to the refrigerator, opening its door and taking a good look inside before picking all the ingredients she wanted and placing them on the counter, she made herself a sandwich and ate it, before eying the drawer where Gold kept the spoons and took one from inside, grabbing the peanut butter jar as she licked her lips.

"Hey," Adam’s voice said from the kitchen’s entryway.

She didn’t turn around, only sank the spoon in the peanut butter before lifting it to her mouth, ignoring him completely. Adam walked towards her silently, deciding to make amends for their last argument.

"I'm sorry for what I said yesterday,” he muttered, “I was angry at Milah, I shouldn't have thrown this at you."

Still, she wasn't willing to look at his face just yet.

"Yeah," Lacey mumbled, licking the spoon clean, "you shouldn't."

Adam snorted, swiping his arms around her waist, hands cupping each sides of her belly as he pressed a long kiss to the top of her head. She leaned almost involuntarily into his touch, dropping the spoon inside the jar, Lacey laid her head on his shoulder, feeling the top of his nose caress the skin of her forehead and suddenly there wasn't any other place she wished to be at that moment. He was home, as much as she hated him sometimes, his arms were the place that made her feel safe.

"Do you forgive me?" Gold asked softly.

Unable to give him a straight answer, because she was still too stubborn to give in that way, Lacey limited herself to giggling and lifted the spoon to her mouth once again, saying: "I'm going to eat all your peanut butter."

"It is no matter," he returned, enjoying the view of her, delighting herself with something tasty.

He had considered not telling her about his conversation with Cora, because he knew that the last thing she needed was another thing in her already pretty confused mind, but he was feeling so broken with the possibility of losing his son, that all Gold wanted was to be comforted. Of course, he also knew that Lacey wasn’t the kind of person that would offer herself to soothe the other with beautiful words, but it was the concern in the deep irises of her gorgeous blue eyes, that would make his heart feel lighter, so he started to speak.

"I've been to Milah's lawyer's office today," Adam admitted with a long, frustrated sigh. "She is playing with me."

"What do you mean?" Lacey inquired pulling away from him and turning around so she could stare right at his face.

"She wants you out of my life. Cora, the lawyer, said that if I let you go, Milah will stop all of this," he explained. "The only reason why she wants Baden's guardship is because she wants to force me to get rid of you, because she knows that this will make me unhappy."

"Understood," she said with a bitter laugh, dropping her glance to the counter as she placed the peanut butter jar on top of it. "I'm leaving tomorrow."

Lacey knew that she should have seen it coming. There was no other reason for Milah to make this whole storm in Gold’s life than to harm her and make her pay for that first night in the bar, a night that could have happened yesterday or three hundred years ago. A night that changed everything.

But now the bitch had made her final move and she was going to win that game as easily as none of them could have predicted.

"No, you won't,” Gold insisted, stepping forward to cup Lacey’s shoulders. “I told her that I will fight for my son as much as I will fight for my daughter."

"Adam you're being stupid," Lacey cried, sounding weak and pathetic even for herself. "I can disappear, and you can come to pick up the baby when she is born, then our story will be over."

"No,” he shook his head and for the first time, he was utterly and completely truthful with her about his feelings: “Lacey, I love you! I want you to stay."

Her mouth fell open in a perfect “o” shape, her heart raced like a speeding car and she stared at him for too long, because she couldn’t find the strength in herself to say those words back to him.

"Adam..."

She was speechless, but he knew very well that he wasn’t getting an answer back just now, so he grabbed her by the waist and kissed her eagerly, smashing her lips with his and making Lacey feel breathless. Tears came to her eyes as she gave all she had into that kiss, because in the back of her mind a perfect plan was being formed in order to save Adam from his own idiocy that would end up shattering him, when he eventually lost Bae to his ex-fiancée.

After some moments wrapped in her arms, Gold pulled away to look down at her with all the love he had, caressing her hair gently. "We'll be running late if we don't go just now."

"Just a minute and I'll be ready," Lacey said, putting on a fake smile as she went to the entryway to grab her purse, looking over her shoulder to tell him: "Oh, and Ruby will pick me up at the library today, so you don't need to go there after work."

"Alright then," he said, waving a hand to call for Baden who was in the living room, so they could go. "I will see you tonight."

They followed Gold outside, settling themselves in his car, Lacey quickly typing a text message on her phone in her desperation to get things over as soon as she could. She sighed, fighting with the despair that was bursting out of her chest. She wasn't even willing to accompany Adam outside when they stopped in front of the school to drop off Baden. Lacey stayed there, teary-eyed watching as the little boy got out of the car with his colourful backpack hanging from one of his shoulders and expected him to walk away quickly, but Bae came to the front of the passenger's door and opened it, throwing his arms around her and pressing the sweetest kiss to her cheek.

"Bye Lacey!" He said cheerfully.

"Goodbye my sweet, sweet boy," she answered stupefied, kissing the top of his head under Gold's lovely glance, before letting Bae go, taking his father's hand and heading inside the school.

Closing the car's door, she leaned against the seat, chest raising and falling painfully fast. Her cell-phone beeped and she eyed Ruby's text, which informed her that she would be in the library in less than half an hour and then, she could put her plan into action.

* * *

 

Less than an hour after Adam had left her in the library, Lacey was ready to leave. She had already rented an apartment in Seattle with the intention of moving as soon as the baby was born, but Lacey was going to need it sooner than she had expected. Everything had been done in secret, she found the place and made all payments on the internet, using her debt card and Ruby was the only one who knew about what she had planned, helping her by getting out of the city to buy some furniture and put it inside the small flat.

Lacey knew that she would only find a bed and a refrigerator in there, but she could manage to get more things later, in an attempt to make it look like a home. For now, what she truly needed was to get away from Storybrooke, forget about Bunny's threats and let Gold have his son. It was for both his sake and Baden's, because she was pretty sure that they would suffer a lot being separated and Bae would probably be the most harmed in this whole situation, because he would end up with a mother that didn't care about him. She couldn't have this blame on herself.

"Are you sure of what you're going to do?" Jasmine asked for what seemed to be tenth time that morning.

Snorting totally frustrated, Lacey threw some more of her things inside the large purse, getting everything she could from the little locker she had at the back of the circulation desk.

"Jasmine, I don't need your opinion about this," she said, harshly, "just assure me that you'll handle the library."

"I will, but I'm worried about you," the other girl muttered a little unsure. "I know that you might not consider me as your friend, but I do. You're the only one I get to talk to, ever since I moved to this town."

Turning around to face her, Lacey dropped the purse onto the chair a mocking laugh leaving her throat.

"Geez, you need friends, but alright, come here, I'll miss you."

Clumsily hugging Jasmine, Lacey thought that she might yet consider her a good friend and she would certainly miss having her as an assistant to do all the work she didn't like. They had shared good moments inside that library and Jasmine was as engaged in her life now as Ruby was and maybe, Lacey considered, she was just the bad bitch that was mean to everybody. Precious were the ones that wanted to be her friends.

"It's Ruby," Jasmine said, when she looked up at the windows and saw the red car parking outside.

Pulling away from her, the blue-eyed girl took a long breath, grabbed her purse and went outside with Jasmine following her. Ruby was playing with the keys while absent-mindedly kicking the ground with the tip of her boots, but she threw them to Lacey the moment she got out of the library.

"Hey, beauty," Ruby greeted her, "please do not harm my car, huh?"

"You can get it back from me next month, ok?" Lacey smiled, walking towards her. "I just need it until this little one is born."

She knew that she was asking too much from Ruby and Lacey had been planning to buy a car for herself before she went to Seattle, but Bunny got all the money he could from her and left her with just enough to pay for the advanced rent. Almost unconsciously, she rubbed circles on the side of her swollen belly, feeling one of the baby's feet insistently pressed there.

"We've know each other since we were kids. I would give you the damn car how many times you need it," Ruby shrugged.

"Thanks."

Opening her arms, Ruby enlaced Lacey in a tight hug. "Promise you'll call when you arrive in Seattle?"

"Promise."

Departing from her oldest friend, Lacey went to the driver's seat, opening the windows as she settled herself inside, seeing Jasmine and Ruby standing next to each other in front of the place that she had considered her home for so long.

"Take care, you two," she shouted out. "And keep me up with the news about Gold and Bae."

"Lacey!" Jasmine yelled back when she turned the car on.

"Yeah?"

"Be safe," the girl pleaded.

Nodding, Lacey started to drive away. Now things would be easier, because she already had the car and the flat, she just needed to stop by at Gold's place to pack all of her things before taking the road to Seattle.

Nobody would be at the salmon house until the end of the afternoon, when Helga Potts would bring Baden home from school, so when she arrived, Lacey went straight to her bedroom, getting her suitcase and filling it with her clothes and shoes. She had bought a huge backpack a while ago and used it to put in books and some things she kept on her nightstand. Lacey was almost done when she opened the last drawer and found all the things related to the baby she had been keeping; the little purple dress, the sonograms, the namesake book she had borrowed from the library and now had no intention of returning.

Biting down on her bottom lip, Lacey picked up all those items and placed them with care on top of the books, closing the zipper and looking around the bedroom where she has slept for the last six months and realising that she couldn't just go away without being true to Adam as he was with her that very morning.

Lacey grabbed her things, took them to the car and went to his study. She found paper and a pen, then she sat by the same desk where he had pleasured her and wrote him a letter.

_My dear Adam,_

_The last time I wrote a letter I was probably in Middle School, but I can't find a way to tell you everything I need, without warning you of what I'm about to do. Please do not look for me, that's my first request, I'll be calling you as soon as I go into labour, so you can come cash your debt and get the child._

_It will be better for you all, I can guarantee, but I need to say this, since I didn't find courage enough to do it when I should've. I love you Adam, I was afraid of loving you, but damn it, I do, with all my heart. My second request is that you tell our daughter, that her mother loved her very well too but the threats that came into her life made it impossible for her to be by her side forever. If you wish so, you can say to Bae that I’ll miss him every single day and that I’ll never forget him, because that’s the truth._

_I may not want to, but I’ll carry you all in my heart forever._

_And Adam, my life changed because of you. That day at the bar, when we both were so lost, you brought me back from the darkness in which I was living for too long and even if I still get to fight against the worst side of myself at every new morning, I know that I’m a better person ever since I met you._

_I would be completely happy to know that you’ve accepted yourself that we cannot be just good or bad, that we are both things at different times and you, my dear, are not the horrible man you believe yourself to be. Difficult? Maybe. Horrible? Never._

_You are amazing, an amazing lawyer, an amazing father and a wonderful lover. I just wish I had more time to work with my own issues to get to say it to you instead of cowardly writing it, but well, at least now you know._

_Always your greatest admirer, Lacey._

A tear ran from her eye and fell down onto the paper, staining the word “always” and making it blurry, but she placed a paperweight above it and stood up. Lacey didn’t want to leave and she managed to procrastinate until the sun was almost setting and she was sure that if she didn’t leave immediately, then Baden would arrive and everything would be lost.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gold goes after Bunny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was revised by the lovely beastlycheese.
> 
> Oh. Oh. Oh.

Lacey knew that the road trip to Seattle would be painfully tiring, that was the very reason why she chose to stop in a grocery store to buy a few things to eat before leaving town. She grabbed some cookies, a soda and lots of candies to entertain herself when she decided that it was time to make a brief stop to eat or go to the bathroom. The brunette took the wallet from her purse when the extremely allergic guy that worked at the store started to scan her items and she was distractively counting the money when she caught a pair of blue eyes staring at her from near the double automatic doors.

She sucked in a breath when she looked up to realise that it was Killian Jones who was standing there, eyeing her with some kind of interest in his devilish expression that gave her chills of fear. Thanking the guy that was passing her the paper bag, with her groceries, Lacey gripped it as firmly and nervously as the day she had gone there to buy a pregnancy test. Passing quickly through the doors, without casting a glance at Killian, she rushed back to the car, throwing the bag on the passenger’s seat and starting to drive as fast as she could.

What Lacey didn’t notice for quite a long time, was that a black car was following hers.

* * *

 

When Gold left his office that day, he mindlessly made his way to the library, but of course, it was already closed and no one was waiting for him outside. He sighed, letting a soft, small smile pass through his lips at the thought of the most beautiful librarian he had ever met in his life, who would now be waiting for him at his home.

They were going slowly in that messy relationship they were sharing, but he was pretty sure that with time he would get her to admit that she felt the same way about him as he did her. So, turning into the next avenue he started to make his way to the salmon house.

* * *

 

As she accelerated the car, Lacey was feeling like her heart could burst or end up blocking her air when it jumped high enough to block her throat, she was feeling terrified, fearing for her own life as much as she feared for her child that was incredibly agitated inside her womb, just as if it could sense her despair. Tears fell down from her eyes, when she saw the black car approaching hers, until it drew alongside and the man inside it smirked at her.

Her foot pressed harder on the accelerator, the pointer of the speedometer moving to its limit. She thought that this way, she would get rid of him, that he wouldn’t be able to reach her, but Killian also sped up and his car quickly appeared in front of her, then everything happened too fast. Lacey tried to stop, she tried to step on the brake, but the car made a horrible sound, sliding madly over the road and in that moment, she knew that what was happening couldn’t be stopped.

Closing her eyes, Lacey sobbed and mentally asked her child for forgiveness, feeling the impact between the cars take her breath away and making an excruciating pain explode in her whole body. Then everything became dark.

* * *

 

Leroy almost jumped out of his seat when he heard the crash. He lived in the tiniest of flats on the edge of the town and his building was one of the last before the tool bridge that lead to the road out of town. Curious and a little scared, he looked out through the window, seeing the destroyed cars and grabbing his cell-phone as he opened the door, running downstairs. When he finally reached them, a bunch of people were already milling around there.

"There is a pregnant woman inside!" His neighbour, a girl called Nova exclaimed in horror.

Handing his phone to her, he demanded: "Call the emergency line."

Running to the red car, Leroy got close enough to start to cough because of the smoke being produced by its burning front. Leroy kneeled beside the driver's door and saw the beautiful brunette passed out inside there, blood dripping from a deep cut in her head.

When he looked up, he knew that he would recognise the other car, because Bunny never broke a promise and he had sworn to hunt that girl down if she didn't give him the money he wanted.

"Oh, Lacey..." Leroy muttered. "What did you get yourself into, sister?"

* * *

 

Adam got home around six. He hugged Bae and asked for Lacey, but Mrs. Potts said that the girl hadn't arrived yet, so he asked her to watch his boy for a little bit longer while he made a call in his study. After some research, he had found a man that others claimed to be one of the best lawyers in Maine and he wanted to call him to book an appointment as soon as he could, however, Gold was stopped from grabbing the phone when his eyes dropped to the piece of paper that was set in the centre of his desk.

Taking it, he lifted what now he knew to be a letter and read, heart racing in his chest when all the words made sense. She was gone. Oh, God, what a fool he had been for believing in that story of Ruby picking her up at the library today! Of course, she was gone, because as much as she didn't want to show it, Lacey French was one of the selfless people that he knew and she wouldn't let him lose Bae because of her.

Snorting, he stood up, about to get out to go to Ruby's house and make her tell him where Lacey had gone when his phone started to ring.

"Hello, this is Adam Gold, what can I help you with?"

"Mr. Gold, it's doctor Whale. You need to come to the hospital now, there was a car accident."

* * *

 

The words “car crash” pulsed in Gold's head during all the long, damned way to Storybrooke Hospital. He remembered getting his keys and mumbling quick pleading words to Mrs. Potts along with the promise of an extra payment if she watched Baden while he was gone, only just managing to assure his son that he would be home as soon as he could before running to his car and starting to drive.

Somehow Adam couldn't manage to picture his precious Lacey inside a damaged vehicle and his heart seemed to be smashed into his chest every single time he wondered if she was in pain right now and whether their daughter was safe. He couldn't remember anything about the drive to the hospital other than it was slower than it usually seemed to be. When Gold stepped inside the white corridors he realised that this was the second time in less than six months that he was here in complete despair, the fact hit him hard and made him feel even weaker.

Rushing to the reception, he ran into someone and the blindness of the moment only got him to hold the woman's arm, totally absent-mind.

"Sorry," she grumbled.

"I'm so - " he started to say too, but them the sound of her voice made him stop in the middle of the sentence to stare into her greyish eyes. "Milah? What the hell are you doing here?"

She looked surprised to see that it was Gold that she had stumbled into and shifted away, answering harshly: "None of your business."

Letting her go, because he clearly had no time to argue with his ex-fiancée right now, Adam looked around seeing that the Sheriff was already there, probably waiting for him and made his way to the tall blonde man, noticing that Milah was walking in his direction too. He stopped some feet behind her as she approached the man.

"Excuse me," Milah started with a fake smile, "somebody called me over a car accident that my husband was involved in. His name is Killian Jones."

Gold blinked. That couldn't be true.

"He was in the car accident?" He inquired.

The Sheriff, that he recognised as being David Nolan, Baden's teacher's husband stepped forward, ignoring Milah and turning his full attention to him. If that was a good or a bad sign he didn't know, but he only prayed that he could get some good news about the woman he loved. And of course, that Mr. Nolan said that Killian Jones' accident had nothing to do with the car crash she had been in.

"You must be Mr. Gold, right?" David inquired in a professional tone. "I've been told that Miss French is in a critical condition, but the doctors are trying to save the baby."

His heart skipped a beat. Critical condition. He knew what it meant, he wasn't a fool. Lacey was dying and the only hope they had now was that they could take the child from her womb before it was too late for it too. Gold stumbled back, trying to catch a full breath and failing, the only thing he could see now was Milah, biting down on her thumb with concern for her newbie husband when she hadn't even appeared there when their son was operated upon.

"Was he driving the other car?" Adam question furiously.

The Sheriff narrowed his brow in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"Was he?" He yelled.

And then, when David caught him eyeing Milah like she was a hurricane in the middle of the waiting room, he finally understood what they were talking about.

"Yes," Mr. Nolan sighed. "And that's why he will be interrogated after he recovers from surgery."

"Oh, God!" Milah covered her mouth with a hand, eyes getting filled with tears. "Will he be alright?"

Ignoring her, Gold gripped at the Sheriff's arm, looking into his eyes with his narrowed ones, as threateningly as he usually was at court when he needed to confront witnesses and persuade judges. Two people he loved were in danger right now and he wasn't going to rest until he had all the information he could get about them.

"Where is Doctor Whale?" Adam asked behind clenched teeth.

"Performing a C-Section," a blonde woman answered, coming from another hallway, all dressed in white, clearly another doctor, but one whose face he slightly remembered. "I'm sorry that you can't watch it, but I took care of your son some months ago and now I have to go inside and make sure that your other child will be healthy, alright?"

Doctor Felicity Mal. That's what was written on her coat and she was the one that had performed that surgery on Baden. She was good, a part of his mind said, she will do great job for the baby girl and soon you will have a daughter.

"Alright," he nodded weakly.

"It will take some hours," doctor Mal explained, "so please sit down and drink some water to calm yourself down, it will help."

Once again, he nodded his head positively watching her go back through the same door from where she came as the Sheriff dragged Milah away, but he couldn't move because he was feeling too broken to do that. They had planned on him being right by Lacey's side when she gave birth and he had imagined that by the moment she saw the perfect little face of their daughter she would tell him to forget their freaking contract, because she wanted to be with them forever. But damned his illusions, because if they were already impossible to happen before, then now they were just a ridiculous echo of hopes he should never have had.

Lacey confessed her love for him in that letter, her love for all of them, but she was about to die and he would never get to tell her how much her words meant to him. He wanted to sob right now, he wanted to sink into the despair and when he saw Ruby Lucas walking inside the hospital with reddish swollen eyes from a previous moment of crying he felt a great relief.

"Gold!" She shouted out by the moment she saw him.

"Oh, Ruby!" He breathed, reaching for her. "She is in critical condition and the doctor is doing a C-Section."

"Lacey is strong, she will get over it," Ruby said trying to convince herself of that more than she did him. "She has to."

His weary eyes dropped to the floor, a defeated sigh leaving him. Adam was glad that he wasn't the only one that cared for Lacey and that she had friends that would look out for her, since her mother was dead and her father was a useless excuse for a man, that probably didn't even remember that she existed.

"Killian Jones crashed into her car," Gold told Ruby.

"That bastard!" The dark-haired girl cursed, nibbling at her bottom lip for a moment, then she decided to say: "Gold, I think you must know that Lacey was being threatened by Bunny from that bar, The Rabbit Hole and his gang, in which Killian was clearly involved. She didn't want you to know."

"What?"

"They got money from her," Ruby continued, "money that her father was supposed to pay as he was spending it on card games and drinks."

Bunny from The Rabbit Hole. Would he in fact be able to send Jones after Lacey because she hasn't given him money? Oh, yeah, he was pretty sure the bastard would do so, but if he was brave enough to attempt to kill a pregnant woman, then he would have to be brave enough to face the consequences of it.

"Can you call me if something happens?" Gold asked Ruby.

"Yeah, why?"

"I can't just stay here and wait, Ruby. Not when that man is free," he answered with a whole new wave of adrenaline running through his veins. "Bunny will pay for this."

* * *

 

Lacey woke up disoriented and everything she knew was that there was no pain anymore, but she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not, but she bet that it probably wasn’t, the only thing she could feel was that in the middle of her attack of despair, her lungs begged for air. When the panic reduced just enough so she could concentrate on looking around, the girl saw many people walking near the bed where she was laid, all wearing giant blue covers above their white clothes. Turning her head around, she saw blood on the floor.

Someone gripped at her head, straightening it again, so she was facing the celling, the lights blinding her vision. She saw people approaching her with the kind of tools that she had never seen before and that brought the panic back, causing some tears to drip from her eyes, but the woman holding her head, a blonde one, that she remembered seeing before, smoothed her cheek and gave her an encouraging smile.

“That’s alright, dear. Everything will be alright,” she promised, before gesticulating for another woman that was by her side.

A mask was brought to her face and Lacey couldn’t help but inhale the smoke that came from it, being led to unconsciousness again.

* * *

 

He had a gun in his safe behind a frame at home and Adam needed to admit that he was tempted to go there and grab the thing so he could do what his darkest desires told him to, but instead, he opened the trunk of his car and looked for something that could serve his purposes. Gold glanced at the old cane he had bought to use after surgery he had done on his knee and had spent some time unable to keep his balance without it.

Adam barely remembered that thing, but it came in handy now. He closed the trunk, walking towards the half-opened door of the bar and going inside. It was quiet in there, most lamps turned off, not one single person around and he tapped the cane against the floor, nervously.

"Hello?" Adam called out.

"Sorry, we are closed on Mondays," Bunny answered, coming from the backroom. "Oh, hello, Mr. Gold."

Taking some dangerous steps in his direction, he felt his jaw clench as he lifted the cane and pointed it accusatively at the chubby man. "You sent Killian Jones after her."

Bunny stumbled back. Gold could see the fear in his eyes, knowing that he was not that brave when he was alone. No, that man needed somebody to keep his back and that was why he threatened people constantly, so he could be sure that no one would be able to reach him.

"Listen, I've already heard about the crash, but I didn't exactly send Jones after her, I told my men that if any of them might see Lacey around, then they should give her a scare so she would give me my money," Bunny declared, lifting his hands. "If they crashed cars, it wasn't my fault."

Slowly Gold approached him, just like as snake about to attack. His rage made the blood boil in his veins, his grip tightening on the cane as he got closer to the man that had turned this day into a nightmare for him. He had no idea what was going to happen to Lacey, but he knew that it seemed to be nothing good and he felt the giant need to make Bunny feel pain.

"You put those criminals up to chase a pregnant woman," Adam accused. "You threatened her. You took money from her."

"Money that her father owed me," the man replied as if it explained everything.

With a swift forward movement, Adam hit his head with the golden handle of his cane, making Bunny cry out in pain. He did it again and he stumbled on his own feet until he fell to the floor, hitting his head on a stool which produced a loud sound, but Gold didn't care, for him that man deserved it, so he kept using the cane to hurt him.

"She might die!" He yelled.

"I'm - " Bunny tried to say.

Adam beat at his face again. "She is in surgery right now and if something happens to her and my child then yes it will be your fault!"

"Please!" The man begged.

But Gold couldn't listen to him, he couldn't stop using the adrenaline that was produced by his rage in that entertaining task that was causing pain to Bunny. He was trembling with hate, eyes burning from unshed tears that he was holding in for later, when news from the hospital came and he finally knew for sure if Lacey and the child would be alright.

"Your bastard!" He continued to curse. "It's your fault! Your fucking fault!"

The door of the bar was opened, but just a tiny part of his mind registered that. He quickly had his arm held by the man behind him to stop him hitting Bunny's body with the cane.

"Mr. Gold?" The deputy said, surprised.

"Mr. Humbert," Adam greeted in a ragged breath.

On the floor Bunny made a strangled sound of relief for being left alone. Graham, however was looking at his lawyer with wide eyes, because when his chief, Mr. Nolan called him after talking to Milah Jones and said he should arrest the owner of The Rabbit Hole, he wasn't expecting to find Gold in there attempting to kill that man with his bare hands.

"What are you doing?"

"Justice," Adam answered gesticulating at Bunny's injured face, "with my own hands."

"Alright, step back," Graham replied, taking a pair of cuffs from inside his jacket's inner pocket. "Mr. Andrew Bunchall you're under arrest on the suspicion of ordering Ms. Lacey French's death."

Making another sound of pain, Bunny seemed to be trying to say something, but he couldn't do it, so he let Graham arrest him while Gold watched, still trying to catch his breath and feeling his arms ache with the effort he had made while hitting him. The deputy turned around and accompanied Gold to the door, always keeping an eye on the injured Mr. Bunchall.

"I have to finish this," Graham informed. "But as someone who owes you a lot I'd say you'd better go back to the hospital to see your girlfriend. Mr. Bunchall might want to press charges against you later but I think you have the right to meet your child first."

Coming to his senses for the first time since it all began, Gold stilled for a moment, pretty aware of what he had just done and what the consequences might be later, but Graham was right, he needed to go back to the hospital to see Lacey and his darling daughter, before it all came out and Graham was forced to arrest him.

"Thank you," Adam muttered weakly.

"Go," Mr. Humbert advised.

And that was precisely what he did.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lacey makes a decision.  
> Gold needs to face the consequences of his acts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was revised by the lovely beastlycheese.
> 
> Do we need a minor character death warning for this chapter? Well, be warned anyway.  
> Now we have only another chapter and an epilogue to come.  
> Alright, now who wants a post-Bittersweet promptation? Tell me what do you think about it and if you already have someting you'd like me to write about it, don't forget to leave it on your comment or send it as an anon on my tumblr. You can prompt things about their past, future or the in-between of this fic that we didn't get to see. I'll work in it as soon as the epilogue is posted.

There was a stupid beeping sound that was disturbing her sleep. Lacey grumbled something impossible to understand and tried to turn around, but when she did a horrible jolt of pain passed through her body, making her finally open her eyes to face the white hospital room. She sighed, looking around to find Adam sat with eyes closed in an armchair at the other end of the room, which made her smile and lift her hand to rest it on her belly, her heart skipping a beat when she realised that it wasn’t swollen and round anymore. The child was gone.

A lump formed in her throat, tears coming up to her eyes as the worst was the only thing she could think about. Lacey had been in a car crash, that she remembered, but even if it hadn’t killed her, it could have easily killed her daughter. The beeps started to sound quickly while she blinked, fighting against the blurriness the tears had caused and letting them drop down her cheeks.

“Where is she?” Lacey questioned aloud, making Adam open his eyes and smile widely when he saw that she was awake, but the girl didn’t want to hear anything from him but what had happened to their daughter. “Where is the baby?”

Gold pointed to the small acrylic crib behind him and she noticed it for the first time since she woke up.

“She is asleep,” Adam explained. “She is perfect.”

Leaning back against the pillows, Lacey sighed in relief, knowing that at least the child was alive. Her gaze was still fixed on Gold as he looked down at the crib, appearing to be completely marvelled by the little human being inside there. A silly smile played on his lips, making him look so foolish that she suddenly wanted to laugh, but yet Lacey needed to know about everything and he hadn't given her all the answers she wanted.

“Is she alright?" The brunette asked with concern. "Isn’t she hurt?”

Lacey couldn't see the baby from where she was, as a huge white blanket was covering most of the transparent crib, but she wasn't sure if she in fact wanted to see her. However, she watched as Adam stood up and bent to gently pick the child from inside there, nestling the tiniest baby she had ever seen in his arms. Her jaw dropped in surprise with the first glance of her daughter, dressed in that same purple dress she had bought with Ruby, her feet covered with little white socks that imitated shoes.

“No, sweetheart, she is rather small, because she came earlier, but she is fine,” Gold guaranteed, approaching Lacey's bed and giving her, a better view of the baby curled delicately against his chest. “Do you want to hold her?”

Closing her eyes and turning her head to the other said, she muttered: “No.”

“No?” Adam repeated.

There was a certain tone of pain in his voice that made her feel her heart race again, causing the beeps of the machine, to which she was connected, to increase. Lacey wanted to rid herself off all the small tubes that had been placed in her arm and hand and made her look so fragile, so she could run away from there, she seriously considered leaving the room, but when she tried to move her right leg she realised that it was immobilized with plaster. She was trapped there and she had to open up her eyes to face the kindest man she'd ever met and whisper a couple of words that sounded weak and hoarse.

“I can’t.”

“Of course, you can,” he insisted, stepping forward and bringing the baby close to her. “Here, fold your arms.”

“Adam, please," she almost begged, "take her away.”

Those words startled him and Gold pulled back, the child making a tiny sound and moving her arms and legs, attempting to start to cry, but he quickly soothed her, rocking the baby gently and stroking her small head with his huge hand.

“What is wrong, Lacey?” Adam asked when he was sure that his daughter was calm again.

“Nothing, I’m glad that she is fine, but I think you two should go now.”

“Go? Are you mad?” He gasped. “Lacey you’ve been in a car crash. You broke a leg, lost lots of blood and went through a C-Section. I won’t leave you.”

Oh, she certainly could see for herself how damaged she was and what she couldn't see, she could feel, so Lacey was pretty aware that this was not the place nor the time for that kind of argument, but she just needed to be alone right now and to keep looking at Adam wasn't helping in making things easier. Suddenly Lacey remembered about the letter she had left on his desk before taking the road and her cheeks started burning with colour, her gaze dropping to the thin white sheets that were covering her. Breathing in, she gathered the needed courage to speak.

“But you must, because if you stay here with her it will hurt a lot more when you finally go away,” Lacey said in a whisper, for the first time opening up for him. “I can’t keep looking at you and I can’t hold her, because it will break my heart.”

Adam shook his head. He wanted to touch her, comfort her, but he was holding their baby and all he could do was to take another step in her direction, getting as close as possible to the hospital bed as he could.

“I won’t go away,” he promised. “When I arrive home, with you by my side, I will burn that freaking contract we signed, because I want you to be mine, and this little bundle of joy is not just mine. She is ours.”

Lacey's lip trembled. “Ours?”

“If you want to, yes,” Adam guaranteed.

And even if a part of her was still completely unsure about all of this, Lacey couldn't help but smile, because she was feeling something she had lost so long ago. Hope. She stretched her arms to touch Gold's and cover the one that was gently cupping their daughter's head.

“May I?”

Nodding, Adam moved to hand the baby to her, instructing Lacey to keep a hold of her small head, and as soon as the baby girl was safely wrapped in her mother's arms, the brunette gasped, marvelled. She was the tiniest thing Lacey had ever seen with pinkish cheeks and a soft skin, almost no hair on the top of head, but the strands she had, seemed to be a light brown tone.

“Oh, my dear God, you are right, she is perfect,” Lacey said, stupefied, getting a hold on her hand and hearing as the baby made a low delicate noise. “Ten little fingers and I assume, also ten little toes. I didn’t ruin her.”

“Ruin her?” Gold blinked.

She was too lost in her child's beautiful face to look back at him, so she didn't glance at Gold at all, Lacey just bent to brush her lips against the baby's temple.

“I ruin everything in my life, Adam. I wasn’t sure that I wouldn’t ruin her too,” the girl shrugged. It was a silly thought and she knew it, but if they were going to continue with this, then she would be sincere with him. Arching an eyebrow, she finally looked deep into his eyes and asked: “Where did you find this dress?”

An even bigger smile took Gold's lips when he saw that Lacey was pointing at the baby's clothes. “It was in your backpack. They gave it to Ruby and she told me that you bought it for her, so I decided to put it on.”

“Thanks.”

Hesitantly, he slipped into her side of the bed, feeling how tense Lacey got with the proximity, but giving her the space she needed, only placing a hand above hers where it was covering the baby's arm.

“We never talked about names,” Adam muttered.

“Did you choose one?”

“No,” he admitted, because even though he had looked for the perfect one, it never appeared. “Which one comes to your mind when you look at her face?”

Lacey took a deep breath, worrying at her lip while she scanned her mind in search for the names she had been reading in that book she got from the library, before she fixed her glance on her daughter and it seemed to pop out spontaneously.

“Sarah Colette Gold.”

“It’s beautiful," Adam said with a grin. "Suits her.”

There was this part of her that was still trying to resist, still daring to whisper that she would end up heartbroken, but Lacey knew that she couldn't keep living with fear for the rest of her life. Her mother had always said that you must do the brave thing, so eventually bravery will follow and she needed to get attached to these words now, not just for herself, but for Sarah too. The girl leaned back against Gold's shoulder, letting her head rest against his cheek as she felt the corners of his mouth curve in a smile.

She was still feeling sore and Lacey had to acknowledge that her recovery from both the crash and the C-Section, would be slower than it would if she had delivered the child naturally, but she wasn't complaining at all, because last night when the cars collided, Lacey hadn't expected them to survive. And yet, there they were, mother and daughter perfectly safe and with another chance of happiness. But something occurred to her, making her world fell down a little.

"Adam," she started in a frightened voice, "what about Bae?"

"Look at me, Lacey," Gold responded, cupping her cheek and lifting her chin until her blue irises were looking right at his. "I won't lose any of my children, alright? I'll find a way."

Nodding, Lacey let him believe that she was taking those words easily, but truth be told, she was going to be concerned about it until he had some paper that assured them that Baden was never going to be taken away.

Sarah slightly turned around on her arms, hiding her face against her breast and Lacey helped her to turn back before she could suffocate herself that way. She didn't know much about how to properly take care of a child, so she was glad that Gold had already gone through all of this once and that they could always hire Mrs. Helga Potts to be a full-time nanny.

At her left-side, the door of the room was open and Lacey lifted her eyes to see a very well-known person.

"Excuse me," her father mumbled, appearing to be sober for the first time in years.

"Father, what are you doing here?" She asked, jaw-dropped, Adam's arms pulling her closer as if to protect their little family.

Of course, Lacey knew that this was the only reaction expected, mainly after all the things she had told Gold about Moe French, and she, herself was already shrinking with the memory of the last time she spoke to her father. Lacey nestled Sarah closer, sending a defiant glance at Moe.

"Ruby called," her father explained, still standing by the door, eyes glued on his daughter, making him think of how fragile Lacey looked with a broken leg and a bandage covering half of her forehead. "She said that you were in a car crash because of me and she also said that you have had a baby."

"Yeah," Lacey whispered, watching as her father eyed Sarah and then Adam, noticing the divergence between those glances.

Moe looked at her daughter with a smile, but with annoyance and disapproval to Gold.

"I didn't even know that you were pregnant."

"You weren't paying much attention," she shrugged.

"I'm sorry, Lacey," Moe said, sincerely. "I truly am."

_Well, I am angry_ , she thought but didn't dare to say it aloud. Lacey knew that Ruby had only the best intentions in bringing her father there, but he had been the reason Bunny's men had been chasing after her this whole time. He was the reason her child came earlier. The fucking reason why both of them almost died on the day prior.

Taking a deep breath, Lacey responded harshly: "I'll just be grateful if you can please stop wasting money that you don't have at those bars."

"I - " her father swallowed. "I will."

Adam slipped off the bed, walking towards Moe, who he had never ever set eyes on before that day, knowing what that man's thoughts about him probably were. Gold was too old for Lacey, clearly looked like someone who had stolen her from home and impregnated her in a one-night stand that would soon be forgotten, but Moe knew nothing about them.

"Mr. French, I think it is time for you to go," Adam suggested.

He didn't seem to like the tone Gold was using to speak to him, but Moe wasn't going to be the one to start a fight inside the hospital room where his daughter and granddaughter were. But he also wasn't going to give up that easily.

"Can I..." Moe started taking a step closer to Lacey's bed. "Can I take a look at the child first?"

Mouth opening in awe, Lacey nodded. She would never in a million years let her alcoholic father take a hold of her baby girl, however she couldn't deny him a better view of her too, so Lacey held the child a little higher.

"Her name is Sarah Colette Gold."

With a nod Moe, placed a hand to his daughter's arm. "Your mother would like that name and she would be proud of you too."

Even if it wasn't what he meant, Lacey had to agree with him on that point as she knew that her mother would be very happy to see the progress she had made in the last few months, just as she would be proud of her decision to be there for little Sarah. Colette was a good mother, so Lacey assumed that she would want her to follow her example.

"Thanks, papa," the brunette said, using a word she hadn't spoken in quite a while.

Giving her his last smile, Moe went out of the hospital room, leaving them alone again.

"Are you alright?" Gold immediately asked.

Shrugging her shoulders Lacey waved her head positively. "I would like to fully trust him, but I can't."

In her arms, Sarah started to squeal, strong lungs allowing her to make a loud noise and Lacey looked down at her, totally lost. It had been ok while the babe didn't make any sound, just laid there in a state that was between sleeping and waking up, just moving very slightly like when she was inside her womb. But that, Lacey guessed, was when the hard part she had been trying to avoid started.

Coming closer, Gold instructed her about how to cradle the child, rocking gently to cease the cries and miraculously it worked. _So, the hard part was yet to come_ , Lacey thought before the door opened again.

"Gold," it was Ruby that came in, with Baden's hand tucked in hers. "Mr. Humbert is here."

Arching an eyebrow for him, Lacey meant to ask what Ruby was talking about with such a serious face, but them she saw Baden run to his father, lifting his arms in silent pleading to be taken from the floor and so Adam did.

"Papa!"

"Hey, my boy," Gold muttered hugging him tight. "Come meet your sister, Sarah."

Baden was placed on the bed by Lacey's side, but his eyes didn't immediately wander to the baby in her arms, his mouth was shaped in an "o" as he looked to his father's girlfriend from head to toe, concerned with all of her injuries.

"You broke your leg, Lacey," he pointed out in a weak voice.

"Yeah, but it is not hurting right now," she said in an attempt to calm him, touching his shoulder with her elbow to call out his attention to her face. "You want to see her?"

Baden nodded, excitedly, coming closer enough to take a good look at his tiny sister. She was smaller than he expected and seemed to be very lazy right now, with eyelids closed in her sleep.

"I can't wait for her to be old enough to play."

"Me too," Lacey chuckled.

She allowed Bae to take Sarah's hand, her fingers closing around his as he giggled. Gold watched them from near where Ruby was, both enjoying the scene more than anything, but he knew that he couldn't just stay there forever, because he needed to present himself to the Sheriff and his deputy and only then, he should find a way to free himself from jail and prevent Milah from taking his boy away.

He went to where his family was and pressed a long kiss to Lacey's lips, promising: "I will be back as soon as I can, sweetheart. Ruby will stay with you."

"Where are you going?" She questioned with a grimace.

"I just need to settle some things down," he said, glancing at Ruby to alert her that Lacey shouldn't know about what he had done to Bunny just yet. "I love you."

Lacey watched as he made his way to the door, and sat there in that hospital room with both of his children so close to her, she decided that it was time to say what she should've so long ago.

"Adam," Lacey called, making him briefly turn around to see her. "I love you too."

* * *

 

Outside of Lacey's room, Graham and David were already waiting for him. He knew them very well, but mostly Graham who was his client for some time now as they were trying to make his ex-wife sign an accord that allowed him to spend alternate weeks with his daughter, so he knew what Gold was going through now and he didn't seem happy to be there to arrest him.

"You really got yourself in trouble," Mr. Humbert pointed out, folding his arms.

"I know."

David Nolan stepped forward. "Mr. Gold, you need to accompany us to the delegacy."

"I'm a lawyer, I know how this works, so..." Adam said, rolling his eyes and lifting both hands to let the blonde Sheriff put the cuffs on him.

In that moment a sniffling Milah came from the stairs that lead to the second floor, swollen reddish eyes of someone who had been clearly crying.

"Mrs. Jones, do you know when we can start the interrogation?" Sheriff Nolan asked.

"Never," Milah sobbed. "He is dead."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, I - " she waved her head, letting some tears fall from her eyes as she closed her own arms around her body. "I need to get out of this place."

Milah started to walk away while the three of them watched her in utter silence, but she stopped right before reaching for the corridor that would lead her to the exit, looking above her shoulder to say: "Congratulations, Gold, you'll get what you want. There is no custody fight anymore, tomorrow I'll be very far away from here."

Adam stood there, simply astonished until David tapped a hand to his back.

"Would you like to call a lawyer?"

And the only thing he could think was how ironic everything was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're reading The Miracle, you know then that I have no creativity for names. Sorry about that. I wouldn't write another Rose, but here, have my second Sarah.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lacey and Gold return home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was revised by the lovely beastlycheese.
> 
> Just one more chapter, you all! Thank you to everybody who has been supporting this fic. You're amazing! So, after all those misunderstandings, have the deserved fluff!

Lacey was bored. She was looking at the celling, watching the fan turn around repeatedly, her cell-phone placed dead by her side, as its battery had ended half an hour ago and the only charger she had was in the bag Ruby had brought last night, which was on the other side of the room and as lazy as she was feeling, the brunette had no will to stand up to get it. There was music coming from the room near hers, of the kind that Lacey would never listen to, it made her press the pillows against her ears until she saw the door being opened and urged herself to sit up on the bed, some pain emanating from the place where her C-Section was still healing.

Adam leaned against the door when it closed under her watch, and he knew that he was in trouble the very moment her eyes started to narrow dangerously.

"I think I'm going to kill you!" Lacey shouted out, grabbing a pillow from behind her back and throwing it at him. "You left me alone for two days!"

Sighing deeply, Gold picked up the pillow, walking carefully towards her and placing it back in its place, knowing that he would need to gain her acceptance slowly after his disappearance. He hadn't been expecting to be locked up for two days, but Sheriff Nolan was uneasy and he only got to get out when Mr. Dove appeared to pay for his freedom.

"Sweetheart, I can explain."

"Oh, do not dare to start this with a 'sweetheart' because I'm not willing to forgive you this easy. Ruby already explained everything!" Lacey yelled, slapping his arm with a strength that he didn't think she would have after everything she had been through. "Are you mad?"

"That man hurt you!" Gold defended himself, stepping back in order to not receive the next slap.

"No, Killian Jones did and he is dead!"

Gold couldn't understand why she was so angry, because he hadn't spent hours worrying about what was going to happen, he had stayed there in the sheriff station, knowing that Dove soon would come in his behalf. But Lacey, well, Lacey had stayed in that same hospital room, waiting for him to come back until the moment that Ruby, moved by her despair, told everything to her friend, only making her feel a greater despair.

"Alright, I'm sorry," Adam began, reaching to touch her cheek ever so slightly with the tip of his fingers. "I really am."

"You’d better be, because due to your silliness you almost let Bae and Sarah without a father," she answered, still all moody. "What were you expecting when you almost beat Bunny to death? That it would be cool for them to visit you in prison?"

She knew that she was being harsh, but Lacey thought that Adam deserved it after what he just did, mainly because she didn't ask him to protect her in any way nor had told him about Bunny's threats as she knew that things couldn't possibly end well. And God, she was angry, so angry with him for making her love him and then almost lose him that way when the only one she would be able to blame was him. He was now shaking his head, cupping her face and every stroke of his thumb against her flushed skin made her heart go lighter.

"No, I just wanted that man to never ever again dare to do something to you," Adam pointed out.

Narrowing her eyes even more, Lacey grabbed him by his suit jacket's lapel, pulling Gold close enough so their eyes were at the same level when her next harsh words came.

"So, let me explain, if you even attempt to do something that stupid again, I will, yes, kill you. Do you understand?"

"Aye," he chuckled, then pulled away and looked around trying to find the acrylic crib that was set near the armchair the next time he had been there, but that now was nowhere to be seen. "Where is our girl?"

"Home," Lacey said, in a whiny tone. "Apparently, even having come out three weeks earlier, she is stronger than I am. The doctors wanted to keep me here because of the bump on my head."

Frustrated, she fell back against the pillows. Yesterday, when doctor Mal came saying that Sarah should go home, but Lacey must stay, she had freaked out and said that nobody was going to take her baby away from her and it had needed a lot of soft talk both from her and Ruby to convince her to call Helga Potts and ask her to come to the hospital to pick up the child.

Adam petted her hair with that look full of love that could break hearts and take breaths away, but it only managed to bother her right now. "How are you feeling?"

"A little sore, but really fat," Lacey answered and he exploded into laughter. "I'm serious! It was alright to be giant if I could excuse it saying that it was just the baby, but now that she is out, all that is left is flaccid chubby skin."

"You're beautiful," Gold guaranteed.

"With no makeup and wearing a hospital gown?" she rolled her eyes. "There is no need in trying to make me feel better, I know that I'll be horrible for quite some time."

She hadn’t give much thought to the fact that after the birth, her body would never be the same and it had only hit Lacey when she decided to take a bath on the day prior and stared at herself in a full-body length mirror, humming slightly irritated at her own image. The brunette was pretty sure that once Gold saw what that big horrible gown was hiding he would change his mind about her beauty.

"I was not trying to make you feel better,” he said anyway, ignoring completely her words and her still angry face. “I was just telling you the truth."

He sat on the bed by her side and kissed her. And if that had been just a lip-lock, like she imagined it would be, Lacey would have had continued to be all frustrated, but it was a hot, wet kiss, one of those so full of desire that made her heart race so fast that the noises to the machine in which she was connected quickened madly, making him depart from her with a smirk.

"If you don't mind, I think I will look for a doctor, so we can see if you can go back home now," Adam said, standing on his feet. "I think you've been locked away for time enough."

"Why, thank you."

Gold was making his way to the door when something occurred to him. "Ah, and Lacey," he decided to add, "Milah is gone."

Her eyes bulged. "What?"

Of all things he could have told her this was the last one she expected to hear. Ruby had come with the news of Killian’s death after she went to get a coffee and saw his older brother talking to one of the doctors, who was explaining that his injuries from the car crash were too severe and caused him to bleed internally for too long before they could get him into surgery. The doctors did everything they could, but it was already too late. Lacey imagined that Milah would be devastated, as she had left all the important things in her life behind – including her own son – to be with that man, and now he was gone, but she hadn’t expected her to just go away.

"Well, at least she will be next week," Gold explained. "She is preparing everything to move to Dublin. I received a call from a not-so-happy Cora Mills while I was in jail and she told me that Milah had given up on trying to get Bae's full guardianship, because now she needs time to heal from her husband's death."

"So, Baden is really yours now?” She inquired, needing to be a hundred and one percent sure of that. “Nobody can take him away?"

Gold nodded from where he was, the happiest of the smiles lifting the corners of his mouth. That shadow of self-loathing that usually took place on his handsome face and made his eyes look darker was long gone and Lacey thought he never looked more beautiful.

"I'll be writing a document that assures this as soon as we get home, so she can sign before she goes again. And then, things will be fine."

"But Bae will never see his mother again?" Lacey questioned with a preoccupied frown.

"Milah can see him whenever she wants, I would never think about keeping him from her."

She worried at her lip, rethinking the last few months she had shared with the Gold’s in her mind and suddenly feeling a bit sad, because she knew that Baden deserved more than Milah would ever be able to give him.

"And will she want to?"

"I'm not one to say or believe it, but I guess we must have hope," Gold bounced, hooking his fingers around the door knob. "I'll go get the doctor."

* * *

 

"Ok, this needs to stop!" Adam exclaimed, irritated. "You keep giggling every five seconds!"

A louder laugh left Lacey’s lips as she analysed the cane in her hands. They had just parked the car in front of his house and while they made their way there, he told her everything that has happened at The Rabbit Hole and she stretched herself to get the cane that was placed on the backseat and apparently, she had found the story simply hilarious now that her anger was gone.

"It's not my fault. You almost killed a man using this," she pointed out, lifting the cane and giggling a little more. "I'm really impressed that the cops didn't want to keep it as a proof of the crime."

"Because there is no crime, he is alive."

She played with that thing in her hands, tracing the golden handle a little bit amused and thinking that Gold might look hot as hell all full of rage using such an object to protect her. And yes, she knew that this was madness, but she couldn’t help herself forming those images in her mind.

"Yeah, but you were kept in jail for days, so I say it is a crime."

"Alright time to get out," Adam said rolling his eyes and taking the cane from her hands, throwing it back to where it was before. He got out of the car hurrying himself to open her door to hold out a hand for her. "Are you sure you can walk?"

"Are you sure that I'm not made of glass?" She replied in a failed attempt to imitate his voice. "Adam, I love you, but if you try to carry me again..."

"You might kill me," he finished. "Yeah, I've heard that at least ten times today."

Gold watched her back as she leaned against a pair of crutches, struggling with her broken leg and groaning every time she felt some pain in her C-Section. He shook his head as he opened the door to let her in, thinking that Lacey French’s stubbornness might kill her someday.

"This place it's too quiet," she murmured before yelling: "Is somebody in here?"

The sound of quick steps echoed in the hallway and they watched as a desperate Mrs. Potts came from the staircase with wide eyes and red cheeks. "No, no, no, Miss French, please don't speak too loud! Sarah just slept."

Glancing at the living room, Adam saw that Baden was sleeping on one of the couches, in the middle of the afternoon and Ruby was also passed out on the another, both completely unaware of their arrival and not showing any signs that they might wake up soon. Apparently, Sarah was stronger than them.

"You're telling me that a three-day-old baby knocked you all out?" Lacey asked the nanny, in shock.

Mrs. Potts shrugged. "She has strong lungs."

"Never mind,” the brunette rolled her eyes, “I'm going to change,"

Climbing up the stairs, however showed itself to be the kind of task she wouldn't be willing to do twice and reaching the top with ragged breaths because of her efforts, Lacey started to think that she might live only on the upper floor of the house until her leg healed completely. She leaned against the wall, knowing that Gold was stupidly standing right behind her, waiting for the moment that she would give in and ask for his help, but she wasn't going to let him win this easily, so she straightened herself and started to walk to her bedroom when his voice stopped her.

"I think you might want to wait a little and see this room here first."

He had moved himself to the door next to the master bedroom, the one where he had been working for months and it made her suck in a breath.

"Is it the nursery?"

"Aye," he confirmed, opening the door for her in a silent invitation.

Moving slowly and difficultly with her crutches, Lacey entered it and a gasp left her. The walls were pale blue but fully covered with wallpaper of a forest in which a big grey castle was nestled, a princess wearing a long golden dress stood near a brown horse, reaching for the castle. There was a white frame placed in the middle of one of the forest sides with the words ‘draw and dream here’ written right above it. It was so amazing that she barely noticed the white furniture or the baby quietly laying inside the crib at first.

"Oh," Lacey mumbled, feeling speechless.

"No pink walls, as I promised."

"It's beautiful," she praised.

"I'm glad you like it," Gold smiled, going straight to the crib, watching the sleeping baby.

Lacey managed to drag the rocking chair close and sat on it, pulling down the crib's bars so that she could pick up her daughter who was all wrapped in a fluffy yellow blanket. Her eyelids were closed, but she had discovered while still in the hospital that the baby had her bright blue eyes, the same ones her mother had and that thought brought a soft grin to her face.

"Hey, Sarah, mama is finally here with you," Lacey whispered, as Adam stared openly at her. She lifted her head to see him smirking in that same silly way he was doing when he first saw her holding their baby and asked: "What are you smiling at?"

"That day at the bar, when you approached me," Adam stared, "did you ever wonder where it could end?"

"The only thing I was wondering was if I could get you to pay for my next drink, but well I think this ending is quite good too," she said with a shrug and a small laugh, "but when she is sixteen and rebellious, you'll take care of the big problems, I'll just be the cool mother."

He joined her, laughing too and came to kneel by her side, touching Sarah's pinkish cheeks with the tip of his finger.

"We never talked about what this means," Adam muttered.

"What?" Lacey questioned, confused.

"You, staying."

She bit down on her lip, without having an immediate answer to give to him, because she had been trying to figure it out for the last two days, but nothing made sense for her. Lacey was still struggling with her own feelings and had no idea what were Gold's intentions from now on.

"I'm not sure if I know how to answer this," she muttered. "Adam, I'm the girl you met at a bar and then brought to your house because she was pregnant with your child. We had a contract, but you said that you wanted to burn it, so I'm just confused, because I don't know if you just don't wish your daughter to grow up without a mother or if..."

"Lacey, I am in love with you. That's why I want you to stay."

Taking a deep breath, she felt compelled to ask: "How much in love?"

Taking the baby from Lacey's arms, Gold placed her back in the crib and grabbed both her hands, looking as deep into her beautiful blue eyes as he could. Her mouth fell open as she started to wonder what he was doing and Adam's next words made her heart race furiously.

"Enough to make me want to be yours not just now, but for all the future."

"That's the cheesiest thing I've ever - " she started to mock him, but he shook his head, banishing her words and making the phrase die before she could manage to complete it.

"Marry me," Adam said.

"What?" Lacey gasped.

"Marry me and please, don't run away."

She could easily see herself saying no, rejecting his affections once again and retreating into her little shell, but then she glanced at their beautiful sleepy daughter and decided that it was time to stop fearing love. What she felt for Adam she was sure that she wasn't going to feel for anybody else, because it was maddening and wonderful and she wanted to be this in love for the rest of her days.

"Yes!"

"Are you sure?" Gold questioned, surprised that she had accepted so easily. "Because you know, it's forever, dearie."

"Mm, no," Lacey said with a shake of her head, "I'm pretty sure that I know some lawyers that would be willing to help me with something called a divorce."

"Lacey!"

"Just kidding," she giggled, pulling him closer, "forever sounds good."

Fusing their lips, Gold lifted himself up on his knees, so he was at the same level that she was. Her fingers drowned in his hair, pulling at the greyish strands as their kiss deepened. It was impossible to say which one of them was most surprised by their sudden engagement, but both were extremely happy.

When they pulled away, foreheads touching while they caught their breath, Lacey mumbled; "Oh and mark this, I want a white dress and I'm not doing any ceremony until I can properly fit into one."

"Deal," Adam chuckled.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Lacey saw when a new person entered the nursery, looking tired and rubbing at his eyes. Bae, made his way towards them and Gold moved away from her to let the boy climb up onto Lacey's lap, nestling his face against her shoulder.

"Papa, Mrs. Potts said you were home," Baden muttered, yawning. "You're not leaving anymore?"

"No," Gold assured him, "we will be staying right here all the four of us."

"Good, because I want some candies," Bae grinned.

Laughing a little, Lacey opened the purse she had been carrying and took some chocolates from there handing them to him.

"Here."

"What have I told you about spoiling him?" Adam asked with a grimace.

"Guess I'm going to have some things to learn during 'forever', huh?"

"You most certainly do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, stay tuned, I'll be posting the epilogue tomorrow night.


	20. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was revised by the sweet beastlycheese.
> 
> And... We are done! Thank you so, so much for reading this fic, supporting it and leaving comments, I'm really happy I could share this story with you all. <3

_Thirteen years later._

To whoever looked at it from the outside, the salmon house hadn’t changed a bit, the colour remained practically the same, the gardens were still impeccable and there was still an old, but very conserved black Cadillac parked outside, but now with the addition of another car, a blue one, rather smaller that belonged to Mr. Gold’s wife. The loud music, however was something new for the neighbours, as well as the bunch of teenagers that had been arriving ever since lunch time.

Hanging around the living room, was Baden Gold, an arm enlaced around his blonde girlfriend’s waist, the seventeen-year-old Emma Nolan, daughter of his former teacher, Mary Margaret and the town’s Sheriff, David. There was a giant half-eaten cake on the table behind them, from which you couldn’t read the congratulation wishes anymore, but the NYU flags spread everywhere made the reasons for the party very clear, like everyone had heard from Adam during the last week his eldest son was going to college with all the merits he could have earned.

Lacey was observing them from the kitchen. She watched as Regina Mills, one of Emma’s best friends approached them to start a conversation, knowing that the girl was probably there without her mother’s consent, because Cora hated both the Golds and the Nolans. Distractedly, she opened the cupboard looking for the disposables, knowing that sooner or later Bae would come there saying they had ran out of them. Once Lacey found them, she called for Sarah, who had been speaking to Emma’s brother, Neal, and told her to go put them on the table. The girl rolled her eyes, clearly not wanting to obey her mother’s command, but knowing better than to start an argument with the one and only Lacey Gold, so she only turned her back to her, letting her light-brown hair bounce behind her as she went back into the living room.

Muttering something about Sarah getting too stubborn and behaving like her father, Lacey came to sit near her three-year-old son, Gideon, who was quietly drawing at the breakfast table.

“What is it, babe?” She questioned the little boy, pointing at the lines in the paper.

“Bae,” Gideon answered. “It’s a gift.”

A smile appeared on her lips and Lacey almost absent-mind petted his hair as he turned his stunning brown eyes back to the crayons he was using to draw. Gideon had been the most unexpected accident in their lives, but one that they had welcomed with all the love they had. Lacey didn’t want more children, she let it pretty clear to Gold less than a month after Sarah was born, when her exhaustion had reached its peak and she decided that as much as she loved that little girl she never wanted to go through all of this again.

But then, less than four years ago, she found herself terribly ill and when she went to the hospital, she received the news in shock and called her husband from work crying and asking how was it possible that she had gotten pregnant when they used all the contraceptive methods they could. The doctor smiled and said that nothing was a hundred percent safe, pointing then at the ultrasound machine to show the already perfectly formed human being that had been hiding inside her for months.

Now-a-days, when she told this story to the others, she just chuckled happily, but at that time, all she could do was cry. Baden and Sarah had a good laugh about that, when they were told about Gideon and both of then spoiled him a lot, not to count what Adam did for the youngest boy. They were all bewitched by him, Gideon had his family in the grasp of his small hands.

She still wore a silly smile that the girl that had met Adam Gold, at The Rabbit Hole all that time ago, would have rolled her eyes at, when she heard the echo of steps coming from the backyard and turned her face to look at her breath-taking husband. The years had been kind to him, his eyes were wiser, his hair greyer and shorter and he had gained some weight but it only made him look more handsome to her.

Bending, Adam pressed a kiss to his wife’s lips.

“Do you know where my polaroid refill is?” He asked.

“Oh, I knew that this kiss wasn’t for free,” Lacey mocked. “Please do not embarrass the boy in front of his friends with that old camera. He is leaving for college next week.”

“I know and that’s why I want pictures,” Gold said with a shrug. “I’ll spread them around the house.”

Rolling her eyes, Lacey stood up, the loud music the kids were hearing starting to give her the first signs of the terrible headache she knew that she would get later, but she wasn’t going to give in to it now, when all she should be doing was to guarantee that her stepson had the best time before going to New York. And truth be told, she would miss him like crazy, just like her husband would.

“Alright, old man,” Lacey said with a grin. “I’ll get it for you.”

Making her way upstairs, she went to the master bedroom, opening the closet’s doors and kneeling in front of her set of drawers. She was sure that she had seen the refills in Adam’s nightstand earlier that week and had putted them here, because she hated to see things out of order, making their bedroom look messy, so she started to pull out the things that were above before she could finally see the plastic case. That was when she set eyes on the black file.

Carefully, Lacey took it from the place where it had been hidden safely for the last thirteen years and passed through the pages, standing up and leaving the closet at the same time her husband entered their bedroom.

“Lacey?” He asked, seeing that she seemed lost in her own thoughts. “Have you found it, sweetheart?”

Nodding, she placed the refill in his hand, lifting the file for him to see at the same time as she did so. “Yeah, but look at what was beside it, forgotten in one of my drawers.”

Gold blinked.

“Our contract? But we burned it.”

“You burned your copy, that’s mine,” she answered, coming to stand in front of the fireplace as she threw the old file into the flames, watching it slowly start to burn as Gold’s arms enlaced her waist, his warm lips brushing at her neck. “How foolish we were.”

A tiny whimper left her lips when Gold pressed himself more firmly against her, spreading kisses up her throat until he sucked that pulsing spot that made Lacey go crazy.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Adam said softly. “You know sometimes I feel I owe Milah a lot.”

“Why?”

“If she hadn’t left me at the altar, I would probably now be divorced or stuck in a marriage without love and, most important, I would have never met you.”

Lacey turned to face him the best way she could and let his lips catch hers quickly before she moved her body to be able to kiss him properly, tracing his lower lip with her tongue until he opened up to allow her to enter his mouth. She caressed every bit of it, his groans echoing down into her own mouth.

“And what would you do without me, Mr. Gold?”

“I would be lost,” Adam confessed, dragging her to the bed.

Sitting on his lap, exactly like the way all of this had started, Lacey questioned: “Do you think that they will miss us if we linger for another five minutes?”

“Of course not.”

“Great, because we can call the runaway bitch and thank her later.”

Gold’s husky loud laugh couldn’t be heard outside because of the music playing downstairs, but Lacey was just grateful that everyone was too busy to look for them right now, because the best part of forever was him. There were still tough days, they still constantly misunderstood one another, yelled nonsense and fought over the silliest things, but then, they always made amends, because that’s who they were and how they worked.

Their love was _bittersweet_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you have any questions that weren't answered in this fic? Send me a prompt, I already have some of them and I'll be writing more for this verse within the next weeks.


End file.
